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LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


FREL>  M.  DEW  ITT 

I100K8ELLKR 

16O8    11:1  I:<:H  M-II    AVE. 

OAKLAND.  i     «i 


THE 

LIFE  OF  MAJOR-GENERAL 

WILLIAM  H,  HARRISON, 

NINTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 


BY 


H.  MONTGOMERY. 


SECOND  EDITION. 


NEW  YOUK: 
0.  M.  SAXTON,  BARKER  &  CO.,  25  PARK  ROW. 

SAN  FRANCISCO:  H.  H.  BANCROFT  &  CO. 
1860. 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSIT Y  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


ENTERED  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-tiro,  by  TOOKER  and 
GATCHELL,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United 
States,  for  the  District  of  Ohio. 


TO 

MAJOR  GENERAL  WINFIELD  SCOTT, 

THE    HERO,    THE    PATRIOT,    AND 

THE  STATESMAN, 

WHOSE   FAME    FILLS   THE   WORLD, 
AND  WHOSI  EFFORTS  TO 

MAINTAIN    PEACE 

HATE  AS  MUCH  ENDEARED  HIM  TO  HIS  COUNTRYMEN 
AS  HIS  GLORIOUS  ACHIEVEMENTS 

IN  WAR, 

TTHOSE   LIFE  FROM   BOYHOOD  TTP 

HA8    BEEN    SPENT    IN    DEFENDING    THE    HONOB 
And  promoting  the  welfare  of  his  Gauntry, 

THIS  WORK  IS 

BESPECTFULLY    DEDICATED, 

AS  A  SLIGHT  TOKEN  01  TH1  ESTEEM  INTEBTAINII)  FOB 
HIS   CHARACTER, 

AND  THE  GRATITUDE  TILt  FOR  HIS    SERVICES, 

BY  THE  AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


ANOTHER  life  of  so  eminent  a  general,  and  so 
unselfish  a  patriot,  as  WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON, — 
a  man  whose  history  is  almost  literally  the  history  of 
the  country  for  fifty  of  the  seventy-five  years  which 
make  up  the  length  of  our  national  existence, — was 
not  undertaken  with  the  hope  of  producing  anything 
either  novel  or  exciting.  No  such  ambitious  design 
prompted  the  compiler  to  the  temerity  of  attempting 
what  had  already  been  done  by  a  Hall  and  a  Todd. 
His  humble  object  has  been  to  combine,  in  a  single 
volume,  as  much  of  what  is  now  scattered  throughout 
many,  and  all  over  the  records  of  the  times,  as  he 
considered  of  sufficient  interest.  No  memoir  of  Gen 
eral  Harrison  but  contains  something  that  others  do 
not,  and  much,  indeed,  that  ought  to  be  preserved  to 
1* 


Tl  PREFACE. 


the  country,  in  a  more  durable  and  attractive  form 
than  a  badly  printed  shilling  pamphlet.  Most  of  the 
biographies,  too,  of  the  eminent  soldier  and  civilian, 
were  written  with  the  single  view  to  promote  his  elec 
tion  to  the  presidency.  This  destroys  none  of  their 
merit,  nor  diminishes  the  value  of  the  many  facts  and 
truths  they  contain;  but  it  is  a  reason  why  they 
contain  also  much  that  cannot  claim  to  be  preserved 
in  a  sober,  posthumous  biography,  written,  not  to  ad 
vance  the  political  fortunes  nor  to  defend  the  political 
character,  but  to  do  justice  to  the  memory  and  faith 
fully  to  describe  the  acts  of  an  eminent  man. 

It  has  elsewhere  been  said,  that  not  a  complete 
biography  of  General  Harrison,  in  a  permanent  form, 
has  ever  been  published.  Judge  Hall's  Memoirs,  and 
Sketches  of  Harrison,  by  Colonel  C.  S.  Todd  and 
Benjamin  Drake,  Esq.,  are  both  admirable  in  many 
respects.  But  the  first  was  written  previous  to  1835, 
to  promote  his  first  nomination  to  the  presidency,  and 
is  therefore  necessarily  defective,  stopping  as  it  does 
far  short  of  the  most  important  event  in  his  career. 
The  other  is  much  more  complete,  though  it  was 
originally  prepared  under  the  supervision  of  a  politi 
cal  committee,  with  a  political  design  sclely.  It  was 


PREFACE.  Vll 

much  extended  after  his 'death.  These  comprise  the 
only  attempts  of  any  pretension  that  have  ever  been 
made  to  present  the  public  with  even  a  tolerably  full 
sketch  of  WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON'S  life.  There 
are  also  many  other  sketches  of  his  life  of  more  or 
less  merit,  but  all  having  for  their  aim  the  single  ob 
ject  of  promoting  his  political  prospects. 

And  yet  to  these  unpretending  little  works  the 
compiler  is  indebted  for  much  of  whatever  merit  may 
be  accorded  to  his  enterprise.  He  is  also  greatly  in 
debted  to  McAfee's  History  of  the  Late  War,  to 
Burnett's  Notes  on  the  North-western  Territory,  Mo- 
nette's  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  Frost's  Book  of  the 
Army,  Dawson's  Historical  Narrative,  Niles'  Regis 
ter,  and,  above  all,  to  Brackenridge's  Late  War. 
He  has  made  free  use  of  their  pages  wherever  he 
has  found  anything  to  his  purpose  or  taste.  It  may 
be  that  he  has  not  been  over  scrupulous  in  giving 
them  credit  as  he  went  along  for  all  the  good  things 
he  has  thus  appropriated.  The  fear  that  he  may 
have  done  them  this  great  wrong,  and  the  equally 
strong  fear  that  he  will  be  thought  to  have  attempt 
ed  thus  to  appear  in  borrowed  plumes,  has  prompted 
him  to  make  an  acknowledgment,  which  he  trusts  is 


Viii  PREFACE. 

broad  enough  to  cover  all  his  delinquencies  of  this 
character. 

He  claims  but  little  originality  for  his  book.  He 
might,  perhaps,  assume  for  it  something  more  than  a 
compilation,  with  as  much  justice  as  many  others ; 
but  a  discriminating  public  would  discover  the  at 
tempted  cheat  as  it  is  discovered  in  other  cases. 
Policy,  therefore,  as  well  as  honesty,  has  induced  him 
to  claim  no  more  than  he  deserves,  believing  that  the 
most  certain  means  of  securing  quite  as  much.  It  is 
not  much,  indeed,  in  regard  to  such  a  man  as  Harri 
son,  that  has  not  already  somewhere  and  in  some 
shape  been  said.  -If  the  following  pages  have  a  re 
deeming  point  it  can  only  be  that  there  has  been 
grouped  together  within  the  more  of  them  facts  that 
make  up  his  public  life  than  are  anywhere  else  to  be 
found.  As  many  of  these  facts  as  were  accessible, 
which  were  considered  necessary  to  complete  the  rec 
ord  of  his  acts,  illustrate  his  character,  and  do  justice 
to  his  memory,  will  be  found  there. 

Some  things  may  be  found  in  the  Appendix,  which 
have  little  apparent,  and  indeed  little  real,  connection 
with  a  Life  of  General  Harrison.  But  still  it  is  be 
lieved  they  will  be  admitted  to  occupy  an  appropriate 


PREFACE.  ix 

place,  and  to  possess  an  interest  and  value  that  en 
titles  them  to  it.  Some  are  important  for  the  instruc 
tion  they  give,  some  for  the  information  they  contain, 
some  for  the  pleasure  they  will  afford,  and  others  as 
simple  matters  of  reference.  And  it  may  be  thought, 
that  only  so  many  of  the  events  of  the  war  of  1812, 
as  transpired  within  the  range  of  General  Harrison's 
command,  should  have  been  recorded  in  a  Life  of 
Harrison ;  but  the  compiler  believed  his  name  and 
fame  sufficiently  identified  with  the  whole  war  to 
make  appropriate  a  brief  sketch  of  all  its  most  re 
markable  incidents.  This,  therefore,  has  been  done, 
and  it  is  trusted  the  book  will  possess  none  the  less 
interest  for  the  innovation. 

Little  more  need  be  said, — and  perhaps  it  would 
have  been  better  for  the  book  if  much  less  had  been 
said.  The  compiler  has  labored  to  make  it  as  deserv 
ing  the  great  merit  of  its  subject,  and  as  worthy  of 
public  approbation,  as  his  humble  abilities  would  per 
mit.  To  what  degree  of  merit  it  is  entitled,  and  how 
near  it  comes  to  the  point  at  which  it  aspires,  he  is 
quite  willing  to  submit  to  the  universal  umpire  in  all 
similar  cases ;  ami  this  he  is  all  the  more  willing  to 
do,  as  he  has  not  been  able  to  discover  any  alternative. 


X  PREFACE. 

The  only  merit  he  will  therefore  absolutely  claim,  is 
that  of  making  a  virtue  of  necessity,  and  of  submit 
ting  with  cheerfulness  to  what  an  inexorable  necessity 
imposes. 

AUBURN,  July  1862. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  cheapest  as  well  as  the  most  enduring  monu* 
ment  that  can  be  erected  to  the  memory  of  those 
whose  virtues  and  public  services  have  endeared  them 
to  their  countrymen  is  a  true  and  impartial  history 
of  their  lives,  and  a  faithful  record  of  their  acts. 
Monuments  of  stone,  the  sculptured  marble,  and  the 
animated  canvas,  may  preserve  to  their  posterity,  for 
a  few  ages,  the  names  of  our  statesmen,  and  patriots, 
and  heroes  ;  but  it  requires  the  ever  living  and  speak 
ing  pages  of  written  history  to  perpetuate  what  is 
far  more  useful  to  mankind,  and  much  more  worthy 
to  be  held  in  everlasting  remembrance — their  great 
and  noble  deeds,  and  the  examples  of  wisdom  and 
virtue  presented  in  their  lives.  While  the  pyramids 
and  other  monuments  of  antiquity  throw  but  the 
faintest  possible  light  upon  the  character  and  history 
of  the  people,  by  whom  they  were  built,  and  have 
scarcely  preserved  even  the  names  of  those  to  whose 
memory,  or  the  events  to  commemorate  which  they 


Xll  INTRODUCTION. 

were  erected,  written  history  has  made  us  familiar 
with  all  we  know  of  the  men  and  their  history,  as 
well  as  the  manners  and  customs,  not  only  of  that, 
but  a  much  earlier  period. 

Though  the  monument  which  the  American  people 
are  now  erecting,  at  the  capital  of  the  nation,  to  the 
memory  of  its  founder  and  the  Father  of  his  country, 
is  a  tribute  to  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  most  grateful  to 
the  heart  of  every  true  American,  and  though  it  may 
stand  long  after  the  Union  has  ceased  to  exist,  yet 
if  there  were  no  more  lasting  record  of  his  services  to 
his  country,  and  his  unrivaled  virtues,  than  that  pile 
of  crumbling  marble,  a  few  ages  hence  it  might  be 
a  disputed  point,  whether  it  was  reared  by  "the  great 
American  rebel"  as  a  monument  at  once  of  his  suc 
cessful  treason  and  his  overweaning  ambition,  for  a 
shot-tower,  or  as  a  tomb  for  American  kings.  It  is 
only  by  books  that  the  history  of  nations  and  men 
can  be  permanently  preserved  from  oblivion.  What 
is  true  of  .Washington  is  equally  true  of  every  other 
distinguished  American,  and  it  is  as  much  a  duty  to 
transmit  to  their  posterity  a  correct  account  of  their 
acts,  for  its  benefit  and  example,  as  it  is  to  exhibit 
our  gratitude  for  their  public  services,  by  raising  to 
their  memories  lofty  monuments. 

It  has  already  been  said,  that  this  is  the  cheapest 
as  well  as  the  most  enduring  means  of  honoring  the 
memories  of  national  benefactors,  and  illustrating  their 
virtues,  as  it  is  the  only  means  of  preserving  a  faith- 


INTRODUCTION.  Xlll 

ful  record  of  their  lives.  Biographies  of  the  great 
and  good  are,  besides  one  of  the  most  interesting  and 
agreeable,  one  of  the  most  useful  studies.  Certain  it 
is,  at  all  events,  that  no  class  of  books  is  so  eagerly- 
read  by  the  American  public  as  the  lives  of  our  own 
distinguished  patriots,  statesmen,  and  generals.  Our 
country  is  not  so  old  yet,  but  it  may  almost  be  said, 
that  the  life  of  every  citizen  composes  a  part  of  its 
history — at  least,  that  every  American  can  recollect 
much  of  its  history,  from  the  day  it  began  its  struggle 
for  an  independent  national  existence.  Biographies, 
therefore,  of  the  men  who  have  contributed  most  to 
wards  establishing  that  independence,  and  who  have 
participated  most  actively  and  successfully  in  creating 
for  us  national  character  and  importance,  are  sought 
for  more  with  the  interest  and  avidity  that  we  exhibit 
for  an  account  of  the  scenes,  and  events,  and  men, 
with  which  and  with  whom  we  are  familiar  in  every 
day  life,  than  with  that  sober  and  philosophical  spirit 
of  investigation,  which  is  shown  for  that  class  of  bio 
graphical  writings,  which  more  exclusively  and  ap 
propriately  help  to  form  the  history  of  the  past. 

Great  as  this  demand  has  been  for  a  history  of 
the  lives  of  those  who  have  distinguished  themselves, 
either  in  the  field,  the  cabinet,  the  forum,  or  the  pul 
pit,  it  still  seems  to  increase  in  proportion  to  the  ef 
forts  made  to  supply  it ;  and  the  Life  of  one  distin 
guished  man  but  creates  a  desire  for  that  of  another, 
and  that  again  for  still  the  third.  And  thus  the 
2 


XIV  INTRODUCTION. 

public  appetiU  is  increased  indefinitely  by  what  it 
feeds  upon,  like  that  of  the  inebriate  for  the  intoxica 
ting  cup,  after  he  has  once  tasted  its  contents.  The 
American  press  has  been  prompt  to  take  advantage 
of  this  determination  in  the  public  mind,  to  know 
the  history  of  our  public  men,  and  it  annually  teems 
with  hundreds  and  thousands  of  volumes,  embracing 
every  degree  of  merit,  from  the  mere  hasty  compila 
tion  to  those  displaying  profound  research,  philo 
sophical  enquiry,  and  striking  originality  of  thought. 
They  all,  however,  if  they  but  exhibit  a  reasonable 
regard  for  the  truth  of  history,  and  a  fair  share  of 
skill  and  industry  in  the  use  of  materials,  find  eager, 
or  at  least  abundant,  readers. 

It  is  with  the  hope  of  contributing  something  to 
wards  satisfying  the  public  desire  for  this  kind  of 
knowledge,  but  more  with  the  view  of  erecting  a 
"monument,"  though  a  very  humble  one,  to  com 
memorate  the  services  of  a  great  General,  a  pure  Pa 
triot,  and  a  distinguished  Statesman,  and  to  supply 
what  is  believed  to  be  a  public  want,  that  another  Life 
of  WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON  has  been  undertaken. 
As  large  a  space  as  he  filled  in  the  public  eye  for 
nearly  half  a  century,  important  as  were  the  services 
he  rendered  his  country,  great  as  were  his  virtues, 
and  closely  as  his  name  is  identified  with  the  history 
of  the  government,  it  is  a  singular  fact,  that  the  whole 
history  of  his  life  has  never  yet  been  published  in  a 
single  volume. 


INTRODUCTION.  XV 

The  half  century  between  the  entrance  of  General 
Harrison  upon  public  life,  in  1791,  in  defence  of  what 
was  then  the  wild  western  portion  of  our  country,  and 
his  death  in  1841,  embraces  almost  the  whole  period 
of  our  existence  as  an  independent  nation.  Commen 
cing  his  career  nearly  cotemporaneously  with  the 
adoption  of  the  constitution  under  which  we  now  live, 
he  grew  up  with  the  country,  and  lived  to  see  the 
original  thirteen  States  of  the  Union  multiplied  into 
twice  that  number ;  the  population  of  the  country  in 
creased  from  four  to  seventeen  millions,  and  instead 
of  a  weak  and  distracted  people,  but  recently  emerged 
from  a  long  and  bloody  war,  and  just  entering  upon 
the  doubtful  experiment  of  self-government,  scarcely 
respected  at  home,  and  openly  derided  abroad— a  great 
and  flourishing  republic,  respected  and  feared  by  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  affording  security  to  its  own  cit 
izens,  and  a  refuge  and  protection  to  the  oppressed  of 
every  land. 

We  had,  to  be  sure,  as  already  stated,  just  emerg 
ed  from  that  glorious  struggle  which  ended  in  giving 
us  a  name  amongst  independent  nations,  and  in  per 
manently  establishing  the  only  free  form  of  govern 
ment  that  had  then  ever  existed.  But,  though  we 
had  succeeded  in  asserting  our  freedom  of  a  foreign 
yoke,  we  could  yet  scarcely  claim  to  be  really  inde 
pendent.  The  country  had  hardly  begun  to  recover 
from  the  exhausting  effects  of  the  war  of  the  Revolu 
tion,  and  it  was  still  suffering  the  curse  of  poverty, 


INTRODUCTION. 


and  the  moral  as  well  as  physical  debility,  produced 
by  that  long  and  relentless  contest.  The  government 
was  without  credit,  without  resources,  and  almost 
literally  bankrupt. 

The  north-western  territory,  with  whose  history  the 
name  of  General  Harrison  is  more  closely  interwoven 
than  that  of  any  other  American,  was  then  almost  one 
unbroken  wilderness.  The  first  emigrants,  to  what  is 
now  the  seat  of  empire  of  the  American  Union,  plant 
ed  themselves  at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  but 
three  /ears  before  he  forsook  the  pleasures  and  com 
forts  of  /<ome  and  of  civilized  life,  to  aid  in  defending 
the  infant  settlements  from  the  ruthless  savages,  who 
claimed  undisputed  possession  of  that  vast  region. 

What  a  change  was  wrought  in  this  wild  region 
during  the  fifty  years  that  began  with  his  military 
services,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  and  ended  with  his 
elevation  to  the  presidency  of  a  great  and  powerful 
nation  !  The  wild  north-western  territory  of  1791, 
in  1841  embraced  several  of  the  most  powerful  States 
of  the  Union,  holding  in  their  hands  the  destinies  of 
a  mighty  republic,  scattered  all  over  with  populous 
cities,  and  flourishing  villages,  and  seats  of  learning, 
manufactures,  rail-roads,  canals,  and  every  other  in 
dication  of  the  highest  state  of  civilization.  The  crack 
of  the  hunter's  rifle  is  now  nowhere  heard,  and  the 
once  powerful  savage  nations,  who  then  held  undis 
puted  dominion  over  those  unbroken  forests,  have  long 
since  wholly  disappeared.  Civilization  reigns  supreme 


INTRODUCTION. 

where,  but  little  more  than  half  a  century  ago,  nothing 
•was  heard  but  the  war-whoop  of  the  Indian,  or  the 
howl  of  the  beasts  of  prey.  All  this  almost  miracu 
lous  change  General  Harrison  lived  to  witness,  and 
to  contribute  his  full  share  to  bring  about.  What  in 
other  countries  and  in  other  ages  of  the  world  would 
have  required  many  generations  to  accomplish  was 
here  wrought  during  the  public  life  of  a  single  man. 
In  that  brief  half  century  we  made  a  longer  stride  to 
wards  greatness  and  power  than  even  ancient  Rome, 
with  all  her  boasted  progress,  did  in  ten  centuries.* 

All  that  is  physically,  intellectually,  or  politically 
essential  to  national  strength  and  power,  is  undeniably 
to  be  found  in  the  geographical  position  and  extent  of 
our  territory,  in  the  character  of  our  people,  and  the 
form  of  our  government ;  or  rather,  these  undeniable 
advantages  of  position,  character,  and  institutions, 
have  already  given  us  a  higher  rank  in  the  scale  of 
nations  than  any  other  people  ever  reached  in  many 
centuries.  The  United  States  is  now  only  the  second 
power  in  Christendom,  and  before  the  present  genera 
tion  has  passed  away,  estimating  the  future  by  the 
past,  it  will  no  longer  occupy  even  a  secondary  posi 
tion.  At  least,  nothing  but  our  own  folly,  and  those 
intestine  commotions  and  feuds,  which  have  ever  been 
the  rock  upon  which  free  governments  have  wrecked, 
can  snatch  from  us  the  sceptre  of  empire  which  Pro 
vidence  seems  to  have  destined  for  our  country. 

*  See  Appendix  (A). 
2* 


XV111  INTRODUCTION. 

That  we  owe  much  of  our  present  greatness  and 
prosperity  to  the  wisdom  of  our  statesmen,  and  to  the 
ability  and  patriotism  of  the  men  who  have  played 
the  most  conspicuous  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  Re 
public,  as  well  as  to  the  virtue,  intelligence,  and  na 
tive  energy  of  the  people,  is  a  proposition  too  self- 
evident  for  argument.  To  the  sages,  patriots,  and 
heroes  of  the  revolution,  undoubtedly  belongs  the 
chief  glory  of  founding  a  great  and  free  nation,  and 
establishing  a  government,  which  affords  the  blessings 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty  to  so  many  millions  of 
people,  and  which  holds  out  in  the  future  so  much  of 
hope  and  promise  to  the  oppressed  and  suffering  mil 
lions  of  other  nations.  But  all  their  labors,  and  sacri 
fices,  and  sufferings  would  have  been  of  little  avail, 
if  the  duty  of  carrying  out  the  principles,  and  of  per 
fecting  the  designs,  contemplated  by  the  noble  system 
of  government  they  created,  had  fallen  upon  ambitious 
demagogues,  or  narrow-minded  statesmen.  Fortunate 
ly  for  us,  for  our  posterity,  and  for  the  world,  how 
ever,  what  was  so  well  begun  by  them,  has  been  as 
wisely  carried  out  by  their  successors.  The  spirit  of 
patriotism,  with  which  the  founders  of  our  govern 
ment  were  so  eminently  embued,  was  shared  by  those 
on  whom  devolved  the  task  of  perfecting  their  noble 
work. 

This  is  especially  true  of  General  Harrison.  In 
deed,  he  inherited  patriotism  from  one  of  the  most 
devoted  spirits  who  bequeathed  to  us,  besides  their 


INTRODUCTION.  XIX 

patriotism,  the  inestimable  blessings  of  the  free  insti 
tutions,  of  whose  great  benefits  we  all  now  partake. 
Stimulated  by  the  example  of  the  revolutionary  pa 
triot  whose  name  he  bore,  and  whose  blood  coursed  in 
his  veins,  possessed  of  superior  talents,  and  occupying 
a  large  field  for  usefulness  and  renown,  he  had  the 
power,  and  he  did  not  fail  to  exert  it,  to  contribute 
largely  to  that  eminence  which  is  the  envy  of  other 
nations,  and  towards  securing  those  privileges  which 
are  our  own  greatest  boast.  Anything  like  a  faithful 
biography  of  one  who,  for  so  long  a  portion  of  our 
national  existence,  performed  so  prominent  a  part  in 
public  affairs,  and  filled  so  large  a  space  in  the  public 
eye,  though  destitute  of  great  skill,  and  marked  by 
no  very  profound  ability,  cannot  fail  to  be  received 
with  favor,  if  with  no  very  warm  approval.  The  acts 
of  such  a  man  are  ever  of  deep  interest  to  those,  to 
whose  services  he  devoted  his  life,  however  clumsily 
they  may  be  recorded. 


THE    LIFE 


OF 


WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON. 


CHAPTER   I. 

WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON  was  born  at  Berkley, 
Charles  City  County,  in  Virginia,  February  9th,  1773, 
and  was  the  third  son  of  Benjamin  Harrison,  a  lead 
ing  patriot  of  the  revolution,  and  one  of  the  most 
prominent  actors  in  the  events  that  lead  to  that  glo 
rious  struggle  for  independence.  He  was  a  descend 
ant  of  Colonel  John  Harrison,  a  distinguished  officer 
during  the  civil  wars  of  England,  and  one  of  the 
judges  who  tried  and  condemned  the  ill-fated  Charles, 
for  which,  and  for  his  active  participation  in  the  af 
fairs  of  the  Commonwealth,  he  was  himself  tried  and 
executed  after  the  Restoration. 

Benjamin  Harrison,  the  father  of  William  Henry, 
was,  as  has  Already  been  stated,  one  of  the  leading, 


22  THE   LIFE   OF 

most  devoted,  and  most  influential  of  the  many  noble 
patriots,  whose  virtues,  and  talents,  and  self-sacrificing 
love  of  country,  the  occasion  called  into  requisition. 
He  was  amongst  the  first  to  embrace  the  cause  of  the 
people  in  the  contest  with  Great  Britain,  which  pre 
ceded  the  resort  to  arms,  and  one  of  the  last  who 
would  have  yielded  one  hair's  breadth  to  her  tyran 
nical  and  haughty  demands.  The  patriot  cause  had 
no  more  active,  uncompromising,  and  fearless  defend 
er  and  advocate,  nor  any  whose  services  were  more 
important,  or  whose  counsels  were  wiser,  than  Benja 
min  Harrison's. 

At  the  early  age  of  twenty-one  years,  he  was  elect 
ed  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  of  the  Colony 
of  Virginia,  in  which  capacity  he  gave  such  signal 
evidence  of  ability  and  rising  distinction  as  to  attract 
the  immediate  attention  of  the  English  government. 
And  in  order  to  rid  themselves  of  one  who  gave  pro 
mise  of  becoming  so  powerful  and  dangerous  an  op 
ponent  of  British  aggression,  and  so  eloquent  and  ef 
fective  a  champion  of  the  people's  rights,  they  attempt 
ed  to  purchase  his  friendship,  or  at  least  his  silence, 
by  offering  him  a  place  in  the  Executive  Council  of 
the  colony,  notwithstanding  he  had  yet  scarcely  reach 
ed  the  age  of  manhood.  Though  this  was  a  distinc 
tion  corresponding  in  character  with  that  of  member 
of  the  English  Privy  Council,  and  presented  decided 
advantages,  and  opened  future  prospects  of  promotion, 
and  distinction,  that  few  so  young,  with  the  necessity 
before  them  of  carving  out  their  own  fortunes,  ever 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARBISON.  28 

possessed  virtue  and  patriotism  sufficient  to  resist, — 
young  Harrison  indignantly  and  promptly  rejected  it. 
He  had  already  seen  enough  of  the  grasping  disposi 
tion  and  the  grinding  oppression  of  the  British  gov 
ernment  throughout  the  American  colonies  to  under 
stand  what  was  to  be  expected  by  a  tame  submission, 
or  passive  obedience,  to  these  incipient  measures  of  a 
tyrannical  prince.  Between  his  own  interest  and  ad 
vancement  and  the  submission  of  his  country  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  possible  fate  of  a  rebel  or  the  in 
dependence  of  his  country  on  the  other,  he  did  not 
for  a  moment  hesitate.  He  decided  to  take  sides  with 
the  people  in  the  approaching  struggle  between  them 
and  the  mother  country,  and  to  share  with  them  the 
fortune,  good  or  ill,  of  the  unequal  contest. 

From  the  termination  of  his  duties  as  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  until  the  imposition  of  the 
attempted  obnoxious  Stamp  Act,  little  is  recorded  of 
the  life  of  Mr.  Harrison,  beyond  his  continued  and 
zealous  resistance  to  every  attempt,  on  the  part  of 
England,  to  abridge  the  liberties  of  the  colonies.  But, 
in  1764,  he  was  appointed  one  of  a  committee  to  pre 
pare  a  remonstrance  against  that  odious  Act,  a  meas 
ure  at  that  time  in  contemplation  by  the  British  cab 
inet,  and  which  soon  after  actually  became  a  law.  If 
anything  had  yet  been  wanting  to  decide  the  future 
course  of  Harrison  and  the  other  patriots  of  the  dif 
ferent  colonies,  this  adoption  of  the  principle  of  tax 
ation  without  representation  would  have  left  them  no 
longer  room  for  hesitation.  From  that  time  he  con- 


24  THE   LIFE  Of 

tinued  to  exert  all  the  energies  of  his  strong  mind  and 
his  great  influence,  in  connection  with  the  other  noble 
spirits  of  the  day,  towards  the  maintenance  of  that 
civil,  religious,  and  political  liberty,  for  which  they 
had  already  suffered  and  sacrificed  so  much,  and  in 
resisting  the  encroachments  of  a  profligate  govern 
ment. 

In  1774  he  was  elected  a  member  from  Virginia 
to  the  Continental  Congress,  which  assembled  at  Phil 
adelphia,  in  September  of  that  year.  That  Congress 
being  unwilling  quite  to  close  the  door  of  reconcilia 
tion,  made  a  last  attempt  to  bring  the  parent  govern 
ment  to  a  sense  of  justice,  adopted  a  pacific  and  con 
ciliatory  address  to  the  crown,  proposing  such  condi 
tions  of  settlement  as  a  proper  regard  for  their  honor 
and  the  rights  of  the  colonies  would  permit.  After 
having  adopted  this  measure  of  peace,  it  adjourned, 
patiently  and  calmly  to  await  the  result  of  the  appeal. 

He  was  also  elected  a  member  of  the  Continental 
Congress  from  Virginia,  in  1775.  Soon  after  the 
meeting  of  this  Congress,  his  brother-in-law,  Peyton 
Randolph,  vacated  the  office  of  Speaker  of  Congress, 
and  the  duty  devolved  upon  it  of  electing  a  new 
speaker.  The  members  were  divided  in  their  prefer 
ence  of  a  successor  to  Mr.  Randolph,  between  Mr. 
Harrison  and  John  Hancock,  of  Massachusetts.  But 
Mr.  Harrison,  with  the  magnanimity  of  a  noble  n.xind, 
promptly  waived  his  claims  in  favor  of  Mr.  Hancock. 
Upon  modestly  hesitating  to  accept  the  oifice  after  bis 
election,  through  distrust  in  his  capacity  and  ability 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  25 

for  the  proper  discharge  of  its  responsibilities,  Harri 
son  seized  him  in  his  athletic  arms,  and  placed  him  in 
the  presidential  chair,  exclaiming  as  he  did  so,  "We 
will  show  mother  Britain  how  little  we  care  for  her, 
by  making  a  Massachusetts  man  our  president,  whom 
she  has  excluded  from  pardon  by  a  public  proclama 
tion." 

On  the  4th  of  June  of  the  same  year,  he  was  se 
lected  a  member  of  a  committee  to  place  the  Ameri 
can  Colonies  in  a  state  of  defence.  The  report  of 
that  committee,  which  was  made  after  a  month's  earn 
est  deliberation,  formed  the  basis  of  the  present  militia 
system  of  the  United  States.  In  the  following  Sep 
tember  he  was  also  appointed  a  member  of  a  commit 
tee,  in  connection  with  the  immortal  Washington,  who 
devised  and  perfected  a  plan  for  the  support  of  the 
provincial  army,  and  was  chairman  of  the  committee 
through  whose  agency  Lafayette  and  his  companions 
were  induced  to  enlist  in  the  American  cause,  as  well 
as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  War.* 

On  the  10th  of  June  1776,  Harrison  called  up  the 
resolution,  offered  three  days  before  by  one  of  his  col 
leagues,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  declaring  "that  the 
United  Colonies  are,  and  ought  to  be,  free  and  inde 
pendent  States ;  that  they  are  absolved  from  all  alle 
giance  to  the  British  Crown,  and  that  all  political 
connection  between  them  and  the  State  of  Great  Bri 
tain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved."  Though 

*  Sanderson's  Lives  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  In 
dependence. 

3 


26  THE    LIFE   OF 

this  bold  proposition  to  dismember  the  British  Empire 
was  received  with  great  anxiety  by  all,  and  was 
strongly  opposed  by  some,  yet  in  Harrison  it  found 
an  eloquent,  able,  and  unflinching  advocate,  and  after 
two  days  of  very  warm  debate  was  finally  passed  by 
a  bare  majority.  In  accordance  with  this  resolution, 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  Declaration 
of  Independence.  They  reported  a  draft  on  the  28th 
of  June,  and  on  the  1st  of  July  it  was  adopted  in 
committee  of  the  whole,  nine  States  out  of  the  thir 
teen  having  voted  for  it ;  and  on  the  FOURTH  OF  JULY 
it  was  finally  passed,  and  published  to  the  world. 

Amongst  the  signers  to  this  "  Great  Charter"  of 
American  liberty  is  the  name  of  Benjamin  Harrison. 
To  illustrate  the  fearless  and  cheerful  character  of  the 
man,  and  to  show  in  how  much  dread  he  stood  of  Brit 
ish  vengeance  while  about  to  take  a  step  by  which  he 
would  forfeit  his  life  if  the  colonists  should  prove  un 
successful,  a  curious  anecdote  is  recorded  of  him.  On 
signing  the  Declaration,  he  turned  to  Elbridge  Gerry, 
— one  of  the  delegates  from  Massachusetts,  who  was 
standing  beside  him,  and  who  was  as  slender  and  thin 
as  Harrison  was  vigorous  and  portly, — arid  remarked 
to  him  with  a  pleasant  smile,  "When  the  hanging- 
scene  comes  I  shall  have  the  advantage  over  you,  for 
it  will  be  all  over  with  me  in  a  minute,  but  you  will 
be  kicking  in  the  air  half  an  hour  after  I  am  gone." 

Mr.  Harrison  remained  in  Congress  until  1778, 
and  continued  to  exert  all  his  powers  and  influence 
in  behalf  of  the  cause  of  his  struggling  country. 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  27 

At  the  end  of  that  time  he  withdrew  from  Congress, 
but  not  from  the  cause  he  had  so  ardently  espoused 
and  so  zealously  defended.  Soon  after,  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Delegates  of  Virginia,  and 
speaker  of  that  body.  He  continued  to  discharge  the 
duties  of  this  new  and  responsible  position  until  1782. 
On  the  resignation  of  Governor  Nelson,  in  that  year, 
he  was  elected  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  was  re-elect 
ed  until  the  constitution  rendered  him  ineligible,  all 
the  time  exerting  his  whole  personal  as  well  as  polit 
ical  influence  to  further  the  independence  of  the 
United  States.  In  1791  he  was  again  unanimously 
elected  to  the  Legislature,  but  suddenly  died  the  next 
day,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years,  universally  known 
and  universally  regretted  by  those  for  whom  he  had 
aided  to  establish  a  free  country. 

Such  is  a  brief  sketch  of  the  father  of  William 
Henry  Harrison,  the  subject  of  this  biography.  Spring 
ing  from  such  patriot-stock,  reared  amid  such  scenes 
as  he  must  have  been  familiar  with,  and  seeing  the  ex 
ample  of  such  patriots  as  must  have  been  his  father's 
companions  and  associates,  he  must  have  been  much 
less  susceptible  to  good  impressions  than  most  other 
young  Americans  of  that  period,  not  to  have  imbibed 
much  of  that  spirit  of  freedom  and  love  of  liberty  that 
was  diffused  throughout  all  classes  and  conditions.  But 
young  Harrison  was  no  such  dull  student,  nor  such 
unconcerned  spectator,  young  as  he  was  at  the  close 
of  the  revolutionary  struggle,  of  the  great  events  of 
those  stirring  times.  It  was  from  such  men  and  such 


28  THE   LIFE   OP 

events  that  he  received  those  principles  of  truth  and 
justice,  and  that  patriotic  devotion  to  his  country 
which  so  distinguished  his  after-life.  Here  was  laid 
deep  the  foundation  upon  which  was  built  the  super 
structure  of  greatness  which  he  finally  attained. 

Notwithstanding  Mr.  Harrison  left  an  ample  for 
tune,  it  was  still  insufficient  to  render  all  his  sons  in 
dependent  of  their  own  mental  resources.  Devoting 
so  much  of  his  time  and  means  to  the  service  of  the 
people,  he  knew  that  his  fortune  had  become  too  much 
shattered  to  place  them  above  the  necessity  of  relying 
upon  their  own  talents  and  energies,  and  therefore 
wisely  resolved  to  leave  them  a  richer  inheritance 
than  gold  and  lands — sound  morals,  correct  principles, 
and  a  good  education.  "With  this  determination  in 
view,  the  education  of  young  Harrison  was  committed 
to  the  care  of  Robert  Morrison,  his  guardian,  and  one 
of  the  most  illustrious  patriots  of  the  revolution ;  and 
at  an  early  age  he  was  placed  under  the  best  teachers 
in  the  colony — as  his  brothers  had  previously  been — 
when  he  made  such  rapid  progress,  and  gave  such 
evidence  of  talent,  as  to  afford  his  friends  the  most 
gratifying  assurances  of  future  distinction. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  left  Hampden  Sidney 
College,  where  he  had  remained  for  about  a  year,  and 
entered  an  academy  there  of  high  standing  in  South 
ampton  county,  where  he  continued  to  prosecute  his 
studies  with  great  industry  and  success  until  his  sev 
enteenth  year.  At  the  end  of  this  time,  having 
thoroughly  qualified  himself  for  a  commencement  of 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  29 

the  study  of  medicine,  the  profession  for  which  he 
was  designed,  he  was  placed  in  the  office  of  Dr. 
Leiber,  of  Eichmond,  a  physician  of  considerable 
eminence  and  large  practice  in  that  city.  In  the 
spring  of  1791,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  was  sent 
to  Philadelphia  for  the  purpose  of  completing  his 
medical  studies  under  the  eminent  Dr.  Richard  Rush, 
a  revolutionary  compatriot  of  his  father,  and,  like 
him,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence.  It  was  while  on  this  journey  that  he 
heard  of  the  sudden  death  of  his  father,  an  event 
which  determined  him  to  abandon  the  further  prose 
cution  of  his  medical  studies,  and  that,  consequently, 
exerted  an  all-important  influence  upon  his  future 
prospects  and  fortune. 

Upon  arriving  in  Philadelphia,  he  met  with  the 
warmest  and  most  gratifying  reception  from  Rush, 
Shippen,  and  Wistar,  the  most  distinguished  medical 
professors  of  that  day,  and  from  Morris  and  other 
friends  and  revolutionary  associates  of  his  father. 
But  though  some  of  these  gentlemen  exerted  all  their 
influence  to  dissuade  Harrison  from  abandoning  the 
further  study  of  medicine,  he  firmly  persisted  in  hia 
purpose.  His  inclinations  as  to  a  profession  lay  quite 
in  another  direction,  and  having  entered  upon  it 
against  his  wishes,  he  felt  quite  free,  at  his  father's 
death,  to  adopt  one  more  in  harmony  with  his  own 
feelings.  His  heart  had  long  been  set  upon  adopting 
the  profession  of  arms,  and  his  inclination  was  greatly 
strengthened  by  the  disasters  that  had  overtaken  the 
3* 


30  THE    LIFE   OF 

accomplished  Harmar  and  the  north-western  army  in 
their  contest  with  the  Indians  of  that  region.  These 
events  removed  whatever  hesitation  he  might  have 
had  upon  his  future  plans,  and  he  at  once  prepared 
to  unite  his  fortunes  with  his  unfortunate  countrymen. 
His  wishes  were  strongly  opposed  even  by  Mr.  Mor 
ris,  his  guardian,  as  well  as  by  many  of  his  other  in 
fluential  friends ;  but  it  was  of  no  avail. 

Possessing  as  he  did  great  family  influence,  being 
connected  with  Peyton,  Randolph,  Colonel  Bassett, 
Mrs.  Washington,  and  other  eminent  Virginians,  be 
sides  possessing  the  warm  personal  friendship  of 
Washington,  it  was  no  difficult  matter  for  Harrison 
to  find  employment  in  the  army.  In  the  midst  of 
the  excitement  and  anxiety  that  the  misfortunes  of 
Harmar's  command  had  excited,  General  Henry  Lee, 
of  Virginia,  proposed  to  him  to  take  a  commission  in 
the  army.  The  proposition  was  cheerfully  accepted 
by  him  as  infinitely  more  congenial  to  his  habits,  dis 
position,  and  taste,  than  the  profession  for  which  he 
had  been  designed.  But  fearful  that  his  wishes  might 
be  thwarted  by  his  connections  if  his  intentions  should 
become  known,  it  was  arranged  that  General  Lee 
should  solicit  his  commission  without  communicating 
the  matter  to  either  Mr.  Randolph  or  Mr.  Morris. 
The  latter,  however,  happening  to  receive  some  inti 
mation  of  what  was  going  on,  sent  for  Harrison,  with 
a  view  of  attempting  to  dissuade  him  from  his  pur 
pose.  Suspecting  the  object  of  the  summons,  he 
hastened  to  the  War  Office,  at  the  head  of  which  was 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  31 

General  Knox,  and  procured  his  commission  as  ensign 
in  the  first  regiment  of  United  States  infantry.  He 
then  repaired  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Morris,  who  ex 
pressed  his  decided  disapprobation  at  the  step  he  had 
taken,  but  said  he  should  offer  no  farther  opposition 
to  his  wishes. 

Having  remained  a  few  days  longer  with  his 
friends  in  Philadelphia,  most  of  which  he  was  em 
ployed  in  the  recruiting  service,  he  proceeded  to  join 
his  regiment  at  Fort  Washington,  now  the  site  of 
Cincinnati,  and  arrived  there  shortly  .after  the  defeat 
of  the  brave  but  ill-fated  General  St.  Clair.  He 
found  the  army  broken,  dispirited,  and  suffering  from 
the  effect  of  its  late  disastrous  defeat.  Everything 
looked  dark  and  discouraging,  and  was  especially  cal 
culated  to  dampen  the  ardor  of  a  young  and  inexpe 
rienced  soldier.  But  this  was  not  the  effect  the  mis 
fortune  and  misery  of  his  countrymen  had  upon 
Harrison.  So  far  from  this  being  the  case,  it  con 
vinced  him  still  more  strongly  of  the  necessity  there 
existed  for  his  services.  Although,  when  he  joined 
his  corps,  he  was  a  mere  stripling,  being  only  in  his 
nineteenth  year  of  age,  tall  and  thin  in  his  person, 
and,  to  judge  from  his  appearance  merely,  but  poorly 
qualified  for  the  hardships  and  privations  that  a  sol 
dier's  life  in  the  wilderness  is  necessarily  exposed  to, 
his  ardor  and  enthusiasm  was  in  nowise  dampened  by 
the  forlorn  and  wretched  condition  of  the  army. 

His  condition,  it  must  be  confessed,  was  a  most 
trying  and  perplexing  one.  St.  Glair's  army  was  re- 


32  THE    LIFE   OP 

duced  to  a  mere  skeleton,  and  consisted  of  only  a  few 
hundred  of  half  starved  and  half  naked  troops.     The 
time  for  which  the  militia  originally  enlisted  had  ex 
pired,   the  detachment  of   the  second   regiment   of 
Regulars  which  was  engaged  in  the  action  under  St. 
Clair  was   nearly   annihilated,    and   the   army   was 
wholly  inadequate  to  maintain  the  line  of  posts  that 
had  been  erected  for  the  protection  of  the  north 
western  settlers.     This  certainly  was  a  most  gloomy 
prospect  for  one  reared  as  Harrison  had  heen,  amidst 
all  the  luxuries,  delicacies,  and  comforts  that  wealth 
could  produce,  and  with  a  frame  softened  by  these 
influences,  added  to  the  enervating  effects  of  a  south 
ern  climate.     So  formidable  were  the  obstacles  pre 
sented  to  his  consideration  by  a  friend  whom  he  met 
at  Fort  Washington,  and  so  lively  a  picture  was  pre 
sented  to  him  of  the  sufferings  he  must  endure,  and 
of  the  almost  certain  consequence  upon  him  of  the 
habits  of  intemperance  that  prevailed  at  that  time  in 
the  army,  that  no  man  with  less  firmness  of  character 
and  purpose  could  have  resisted  the  strong  appeals 
addressed  to  him.      But  notwithstanding  these  ap 
peals,  backed   as  they  were  by  the  strong  remon 
strances  of  his  other  friends,  he  remained  firm  to  his 
purpose,  influenced  partly  by  his  romantic  notion  of 
the  attractive  nature  of  the  profession  he  had  chosen, 
and  his  pride,  but  principally  by  the  strong  sympathy 
that  the  disasters  of  Harmar  and  St.  Glair's  armies 
had  aroused  in  his  breast  he  inflexibly  adhered  to  his 
design. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON  33 

The  name  of  William  Henry  Harrison  is  so  closely 
connected  with  the  West,  from  the  time  he  arrived 
at  Fort  Washington,  with  an  ensign's  commission  in 
his  pocket,  to  his  election  to  the  office  of  chief  magis 
trate  of  a  great  nation,  that  a  brief  reference  to  its 
situation  at  that  time,  as  well  as  to  the  events  that 
immediately  preceded  his  arrival  there,  may  very  ap 
propriately  be  here  introduced ;  and  indeed  this  seems 
in  some  measure  quite  necessary  to  a  full  understand 
ing  of  many  of  the  incidents  in  his  life  that  will  be 
narrated. 


34  THE   LIFE   OP 


CHAPTER    II. 

IT  has  already  been  incidentally  stated  that  the 
first  emigrants  to  the  north-west  territory  was  made, 
in  the  spring  of  1788,  by  a  colony  from  New  England, 
mostly  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  who 
settled  at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  River,  and 
laid  out  the  town  of  Marietta.*  The  first  object  of 
the  pioneers  was  to  erect  a  block-house  and  stockade 
as  a  means  of  defence  against  Indian  attacks,  after 
which  the  town  was  surveyed,  and  village  lots  laid  out 
west  of  the  Muskingum  River,  adjoining  Fort  Har- 
mar,  then  recently  built  and  garrisoned  by  United 
States  troops. 

*  Many  of  these  founders  of  Ohio  were  men  of 
distinction,  and  had  held  high  offices,  both  civil  and 
military,  during  the  revolutionary  war.  Amongst 
their  number  was  General  Israel  Putnam,  who  by  com 
mon  consent,  from  the  necessity  of  having  some  chief 
head  in  such  a  colony,  was  selected  as  their  leader,  a 
position  for  which  his  character  and  experience  par 
ticularly  fitted  him.  Soon  after  the  settlement  at 
Marietta  was  commenced  there,  other  companies  were 
formed,  one  of  whom  laid  out  the  town  of  Columbia, 
*  Burnet's  Notes. 


WILLIAM    HENRY  HARRISON.  35 

at  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Miami ;  the  second  founded 
Cincinnati,  in  the  fall  of  1788 ;  and  the  third  settled 
at  North  Bend,  the  subsequent  residence  of  General 
Harrison,  with  the  intention  of  founding  a  magnificent 
city  there.  The  city  was  actually  laid  out  on  a  most 
extended  scale,  and  named  Symmes,  after  Judge 
Symmes,  the  leader  of  the  party  by  whom  it  was 
settled. 

Seven  years  after  the  settlement  of  Cincinnati, 
it  was  but  a  miserable  village  of  log  cabins,  except 
fifteen  rough,  unfinished  frame-houses,  with  stone 
chimnies.  There  was  not  then  a  single  brick  house 
in  a  place  now  the  Queen  of  the  West,  and  containing 
numerous  elegant  and  costly  public  edifices  and  many 
thousands  of  inhabitants.  At  this  period  the  pop 
ulation  of  the  whole  north-western  territory  was  only 
fifteen  thousand,  and  in  1800,  five  years  after,  but  a 
fraction  over  forty-five  thousand.  When  Harrison 
reached  Cincinnati,  to  enter  upon  his  military  career, 
there  was  probably  scarcely  a  log  cabin  there,  much  less 
frame  and  brick  houses,  and  the  population  of  the  whole 
territory  could  not  have  been  more  than  three  or  four 
thousand,  and  these  scattered  over  an  immense  extent 
of  country.  As  late  as  1796,  five  years  after  Har 
rison  reached  Fort  Washington,  the  emigrants  in  the 
territory  were  represented  to  be  few  in  number,  and 
were  located  in  different  and  remote  settlements,  be 
tween  which  there  was  little  or  no  intercourse.*  The 
country  they  inhabited  was  wild  and  uncultivated,  and 
*  Burnet's  Notes. 


36  THE   LIFE   OP 

was  separated  from  the  Atlantic  inhabitants  by  rug 
ged  mountains,  almost  impenetrable  forests  and  im 
passable  rivers,  with  hardly  the  semblance  of  a  road, 
bridge,  ferry,  or  any  other  improvement  for  facili 
tating  communication  with  the  old  Atlantic  settle 
ments.  The  adjoining  regions  on  every  side  were  all 
equally  wild  and  uncultivated,  without  commerce  or 
the  means  of  creating  it.  The  country  contained 
neither  shelter  nor  safety  for  civilized  man.* 

Previous  to  the  treaty  negotiated  by  General 
Wayne,  in  1795,  with  all  the  Indian  tribes  north-west 
of  the  Ohio  River,  known  as  the  treaty  of  Greenville, 
by  which  a  permanent  peace  with  a1!!  the  various  tribes 
was  established,  but  few  improvements  had  been  made 
of  any  kind;  and  the  settlers,  besides  the  dangers 
and  sufferings  to  which  they  were  subjected  by  their 
almost  constant  collisions  with  their  inveterate  savage 
foes,  endured  all  the  privations  that  are  incident  to 
pioneers.  Though  a  large  portion  of  them  had  been 
accustomed  to  the  comforts,  and  many  of  the  luxuries 
of  civilized  life,  previous  to  their  emigration  to  the 
West,  they  were  here  deprived  of  all  the  luxuries,  and 
some  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  But  all  these  incon 
veniences  and  deprivations  they  submitted  to,  not 
only  without  murmuring,  but  even  with  cheerfulness. 
Before  they  determined  on  selecting  a  home  in  the 
wilderness  they  had  schooled  their  minds  for  the  new 
life  before  them,  and  to  endure  with  patience  and 
courage  whatever  might  chance  to  them.  They 
*  Burnet's  Notes. 


WILLIAM   HENRY   HARRISON.  37 

mostly  sought  the  West,  for  the  purpose  of  recovering 
from  the  ruin  brought  upon  them  by  their  sacrifices 
in  the  revolutionary  struggle,  and  partly  to  hide 
themselves  from  the  mortifications  of  poverty. 

Little  peace,  however,  was  given  them,  or  little 
chance  afforded  to  amend  their  shattered  fortunes. 
The  war  they  had  to  wage  with  the  north-western 
Indians  was  of  equal  duration,  and  little  less  bloody 
than  that  which  had  so  recently  ended  in  estab 
lishing  their  independence.  During  the  revolutionary 
war  many  of  the  tribes  took  part  with  the  British, 
and  when  peace  was  concluded,  some  of  them  refused 
to  lay  down  their  arms,  but  still  continued  their  mer 
ciless  ravages  upon  the  new  settlers. 

In  1790,  the  various  north-west  tribes  were  sup 
posed  to  consist  of  about  fifteen  thousand  warriors,  of 
whom  five  thousand  were  in  open  war  with  the  United 
States,  and  of  the  others,  several  tribes  were  by  no 
means  friendly.  They  were  also  now  much  more  for 
midable  than  the  early  English  colonists  found  them, 
for  they  no  longer  depended  on  bows  and  arrows  for 
defence  and  attack.  Under  seventy  years  of  French 
tuition,  and  the  experience  of  the  revolutionary  war, 
they  had  become  skilled  in  the  use  of  arms  and  had 
acquired  considerable  knowledge  of  discipline.  In 
courage  and  the  power  of  endurance  they  had  no  su 
periors  in  any  country  or  age  of  the  world,  though  in 
physical  strength  they  were  inferior  to  the  descend 
ants  of  Europeans.* 

*  Frost's  Book  of  the  Army. 


38  THE   LIFE    OP 

A  treaty  of  peace  was  concluded  with  the  Creek 
Indians,  who  had  for  some  time  been  at  war  with 
Georgia,  at  New  York,  in  August,  1790,  and  over 
tures  were  made  to  the  north-western  Indians,  but 
rejected.  It  became  necessary,  therefore,  for  vigorous 
preparations  to  be  made  to  meet  the  threatened  storm, 
on  the  part  of  the  government.  It  was  therefore  re 
solved  by  Congress  to  increase  the  military  force  and 
to  destroy  the  Miami  villages.  To  carry  out  this  ob 
ject,  the  governor  of  the  territory,  General  St.  Clair, 
was  authorized  to  call  on  Pennsylvania  and  Kentucky 
for  fifteen  hundred  militia,  to  join  General  Harmar's 
regiment,  consisting  at  that  time  of  four  hundred  ef 
fective  men.  On  the  15th  of  July,  1790,  he  ad 
dressed  circular  letters  to  the  proper  officers  of  Ken 
tucky  and  Pennsylvania,  requesting  them  to  proceed 
to  Fort  Harmar,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  as 
soon  after  the  3rd  of  September  as  possible.  The 
militia  from  Kentucky  arrived  at  Fort  Washington, 
without  even  stopping  at  Muskingum,  on  the  day 
designated,  with  the  exception  of  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty.  The  troops  of  Pennsylvania  were  less 
prompt  in  their  movements ;  but  they  joined  the  ar 
my,  however,  soon  after  it  had  marched  from  Fort 
Washington. 

The  troops  who  composed  General  Harmar's  army 
were  in  a  wretched  condition,  many  of  them  being 
substitutes  hired  by  those  who  had  been  drafted. 
Others  were  too  old  and  infirm  to  bear  the  fatigues 
of  an  active  campaign,  and  they  were  nearly  all  awk- 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  39 

ward  and  undisciplined.  A  large  portion  of  their 
arms  were  also  unfit  for  use,  many  of  their  muskets 
and  rifles  being  without  locks,  and  there  was  a  state 
of  insubordination  and  a  disregard  of  military  rule 
that  gave  little  promise  of  future  success.*  When 
the  troops  arrived  at  Fort  Washington,  the  season 
was  too  far  advanced  to  permit  of  any  delay  for  dril 
ling  them,  and  on  the  1st  of  October,  General  Har- 
mar  took  up  his  march  for  the  enemies  country. 
During  the  campaign,  several  Indian  villages  were 
destroyed,  but  the  expedition  on  the  whole  was  a  dis 
astrous  one  to  the  American  army.  When  these 
towns  were  burnt,  and  their  inhabitants  were  dis 
persed,  the  chief  object  of  the  enterprise  was  accom 
plished.  General  Harmar,  however,  considered  his 
work  unfinished,  and  was  therefore  determined  to 
bring  on  an  engagement  with  them  if  possible.  But 
instead  of  advancing  himself  with  the  main  body  of 
his  army,  and  forgetful  also  of  the  character  of  his 
forces,  Colonel  Hardin  was  sent  forward  with  a  de 
tachment  of  three  hundred  men,  of  whom  only  thirty 
were  regulars,  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy.  He  was 
attacked  by  a  body  of  Indians,  when  the  militia,  un 
der  his  command,  were  seized  with  a  panic,  and  pre 
cipitately  fled,  and  the  regulars  were  nearly  all  cut 
off.  Colonel  Harden  was  then  sent  out  with  another 
detachment  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  men,  who 
speedily  encountered  another  large  body  of  the  sav 
age  foe.  But  after  a  long  and  bloody  contest,  in 
*  Burnet's  Notes. 


THE   LIFE   OP 

which  Colonel  Hardin  lost  nearly  half  his  force,  he 
was  compelled  to  retreat  and  fall  back  on  the  main 
body  of  the  army.  General  Harmar,  after  these  and 
some  other  less  disastrous  reverses,  returned  to  Fort 
Washington,  by  easy  marches,  pursued  for  some  time 
by  the  Indians ;  but  owing  to  the  vigilance  of  the 
General,  they  were  unable  to  harrass  his  movements 
or  injure  the  troops  during  the  march.  Soon  after, 
the  militia  were  disbanded,  and  General  Harmar  re 
signed  his  command,  and  obtained  a  court  martial, 
by  which  he  was  fully  acquitted. 

Though  this  expedition  is  generally  considered  to 
have  been  a  failure,  General  Harmar  claimed  for  it  a 
different  and  more  honorable  name ;  and  in  justice  to 
the  character  of  a  brave  and  patriotic  officer,  it  ought 
to  be  stated  that  the  movement  was  got  up  in  great 
haste,  and  that  the  troops,  with  the  exception  of  three 
hundred  and  fifty  rank  and  file,  were  undisciplined, 
insubordinated,  and  barely  equipped.*  Notwithstand 
ing  these  facts,  the  main  object  of  the  expedition, 
which  was  the  destruction  of  the  Miami  villages,  was 
accomplished ;  and  those  places  of  rendezvous,  where 
British  traders  resorted  to  poison  the  minds  of  the 
Indians,  and  excite  their  hostility  against  the  settlers, 
were  broken  up.  Thus  far  the  expedition  was  com 
pletely  successful.  But  in  his  anxiety  to  inflict  still 
further  injury  on  the  enemy,  he  suffered  what,  with 
very  little  stretch  of  the  imagination,  looks  much 
like  a  very  decided  defeat. 

*  Burnet's  Notes. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARBISON.  41 

But  whether  General  Harmar  may  have  been  vic 
torious  or  defeated,  the  result  of  his  expedition  had 
very  little  effect  in  repressing  the  attacks  of  the  Indi 
ans  upon  the  American  settlements.  In  the  winter  of 
1790-1,  one  of  those  attacks,  by  a  party  of  four  or  five 
hundred,  and  headed  by  the  notorious  Simon  Girty, 
was  made  upon  Dunlap's  station  at  Coleraine;  but 
it  proved  unsuccessful,  as  a  similar  one  subsequently 
did  upon  Fort  Jefferson.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to 
enumerate  all  the  hostile  movements  and  outrages  of 
the  Indians.  Their  depredations  and  incursions  con 
tinued  more  or  less  frequent  during  the  whole  pro 
gress  of  the  war,  and  small  parties  were  constantly 
lurking  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  white  settlements, 
watching  for  opportunities  to  plunder  and  murder  the 
settlers.  So  frequent  were  these  depredations,  that 
the  inhabitants  were  kept  constantly  on  their  guard 
against  them.  There  was  no  safety  for  any  one  out 
side  their  defenses :  no  one  retired  to  rest  with  any 
confidence  of  ever  seeing  another  day.  The  pioneers 
literally  slept  on  their  arms  for  years ;  they  felt  that 
there  was  no  security  for  their  lives  for  a  single  day. 
This  condition  of  affairs  produced  its  natural  conse 
quences  upon  their  characters.  They  became  bold, 
daring,  and  almost  reckless  of  life  5  or  rather,  they 
became  so  accustomed  to  danger,  that  they  seemed  to 
be  almost  indifferent  to  it.  This  was  rather  a  neces 
sity  of  their  mode  of  life,  however,  than  any  real  dis 
regard  for  life.  Their  apparent  disregard  of  life  even 
led  tbem  to  hazard  it  when  nothing  was  to  be  gained 
4* 


42  THE    LIFE   OF 

by  the  risk.  All  the  elements  of  true  courage  they 
possessed  in  the  highest  degree:  and  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that,  by  the  constant  exposure  to  danger 
with  which  they  were  surrounded,  and  the  hard  ne 
cessities  of  the  life  they  were  compelled  to  lead,  were 
planted  the  germ  from  which  has  sprung  many  of 
these  distinguishing  features  of  their  descendants, 
known  as  "  Western  character." 

So  frequent  were  the  depredations  and  murders 
of  the  Indians,  even  after  General  Harmar  had  de 
stroyed  their  towns,  that  in  January,  1791,  President 
Washington  felt  called  upon  to  submit  to  Congress  a 
statement  of  the  condition  of  the  western  country,  and 
to  recommend  the  measures  which,  in  his  opinion,  it 
was  necessary  and  proper  to  be  taken  for  its  defense 
and  security.  He  urged  upon  Congress  the  duty  of 
taking  prompt  and  efficient  measures  for  the  protec 
tion  of  the  white  settlements  against  the  relentless 
and  cruel  warfare  that  was  carried  on  against  them, 
and  recommended  another  expedition  against  the  Wa- 
bash  Indians  as  the  most  effectual  means  of  putting 
an  end  to  these  outrages. 

In  consequence  of  the  President's  statements,  and  his 
urgent  recommendation  for  some  speedy  action,  Con 
gress  was  induced  to  authorize  him  to  raise  an  army  of 
three  thousand  men  ;  and  in  the  meantime,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  affording  immediate  relief,  they  authorized  him 
to  raise  a  corps  of  Kentucky  volunteers,  with  the  view 
of  destroying  the  towns  on  the  Wabash.  The  exe 
cution  of  this  latter  duty  was  intrusted  to  Genera] 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  43 

Charles  Scott,  and  proved  entirely  successful,  several 
villages  having  been  burnt,  the  growing  corn  cut  up, 
a  large  amount  of  property  destroyed,  thirty-two  war 
riors  killed,  and  fifty-seven  prisoners  taken,  and  with 
out  the  loss  of  a  single  man  killed,  and  only  four 
wounded,  on  the  part  of  the  Americans ;  and  what 
is  more  to  their  honor,  without  having  permitted  a 
single  act  of  cruelty  to  mark  their  conduct.* 

Soon  after  the  termination  of  this  brilliant  expe 
dition  another  was  fitted  out,  under  the  discretionary 
power  given  to  Governor  St.  Glair,  and  the  command 
of  it  intrusted  to  Colonel  John  Wilkinson,  who  had 
signalized  himself  during  the  campaign  of  General 
Scott.  It  consisted  of  five  hundred  and  fifty  well 
mounted  and  equipped  Kentucky  volunteers.  Though 
all  the  objects  designed  by  Colonel  Wilkinson  were 
not  accomplished,  it  was  nevertheless  in  the  main  suc 
cessful,  and  great  praise  was  awarded  the  whole  de 
tachment  for  their  perseverance  and  bravery. 

While  these  military  operations  were  going  on 
under  General  Scott  and  Colonel  Wilkinson,  the  War 
Department  was  engaged  in  raising  the  army  of  three 
thousand  men,  authorized  by  Congress.  Of  this  ar 
my  Governor  St.  Clair  was  appointed  commander, 
with  the  rank  of  Major-General ;  and  on  the  28th  of 
January,  1791,  he  left  Philadelphia  for  Fort  Pitt, 
now  Pittsburgh,  where  he  arrived  on  the  16th  of  the 
ensuing  April>  and  at  Fort  Washington  on  the  15th 
of  May.  The  troops  which  had  assembled  at  this  lat- 
*  Burnet's  Notes. 


44  THE    LIFE   OP 

ter  fort  on  the  last  of  August,  amounted  to  about  two 
thousand  men.  On  the  17th  day  of  September  they 
took  up  their  line  of  march  from  Ludlow's  station, 
five  miles  in  advance  of  Fort  Washington,  where  they 
had  been  encamped  for  four  or  five  weeks  waiting  for 
reinforcements,  under  the  command  of  General  Butler, 
who  was  the  second  in  command. 

On  the  3d  of  November,  after  a  fatiguing  and  la 
borious  march,  the  army  arrived  at  a  creek  which 
proved  to  be  a  branch  of  the  Wabash,  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Miami  villages  for  the  destruction  of  which  the 
expedition  had  been  undertaken.  Here  General  St.  Clair 
encamped  on  a  commanding  piece  of  ground,  having 
this  creek  in  front,  intending  to  occupy  that  position 
until  the  first  regiment,  which  had  been  sent  back  a 
few  days  before  to  bring  up  the  provisions  in  the  rear, 
and  if  possible  to  arrest  three  hundred  militia  who  had 
deserted.*  The  next  day  he  proposed  to  commence 
fortifying  his  position,  for  the  purpose  of  rendering 
himself  secure  from  the  attack  of  the  Indians  while 
he  should  be  compelled  to  wait  for  the  absent  regiment, 
and  until  he  should  be  prepared  for  active  operations. 

But  the  ever-watchful  enemy  had  prepared  for 
him  other  and  far  less  agreeable  employment  for  that 
day.  They  had  observed  his  movements,  and  had  no 
intention  of  permitting  him  peaceably  to  retrench 
himself  in  their  midst.  On  the  morning  of  the  4th, 
accordingly,  a  short  time  before  sunrise,  the  men  hav 
ing  but  just  been  dismissed  from  parade,  a  fierce  at- 

*Burnet's  Notes. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  45 

tack  was  suddenly  commenced  on  the  militia  posted 
in  front,  who  immediately  gave  way  and  rushed  into 
the  camp  in  great  confusion,  throwing  the  army  into 
the  most  hopeless  disorder,  the  Indians  following 
close  upon  their  heels.  The  enemy,  however,  were 
checked  for  a  few  moments  by  the  brisk  fire  of  the 
first  line  ;  but  this  fire  was  returned  with  equal  brisk 
ness  and  fatal  effect,  and  in  a  few  minutes  extended 
to  the  second.  In  each  case  the  fire  was  principally 
directed  to  the  centre,  where  the  artillery  was  posted, 
and  from  which  the  men  were  frequently  driven  with 
great  slaughter. 

Resort  was  had  to  the  bayonet  in  this  emergency, 
and  Colonel  Darke  was  ordered  to  make  the  charge 
with  a  part  of  the  second  line,  an  order  that  was  ex 
ecuted  with  great  spirit  and  courage.  The  Indians 
immediately  gave  way,  and  were  driven  back  several 
hundred  yards  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  For  want 
of  a  sufficient  number  of  riflemen,  however,  to  preserve 
the  advantage  thus  gained,  they  soon  renewed  the  at 
tack,  and  the  Americans  were  in  turn  compelled  to 
give  way.  At  the  same  instant,  they  entered  the 
American  camp  on  the  left,  having  forced  back  the 
troops  stationed  at  that  point.  Another  attack  was 
made  by  Major  Clark  and  Major  Butler  with  great 
success,  and  several  afterwards  with  equal  success.* 
They  were  attended,  however,  with  heavy  loss  of  men; 
and  particularly  of  officers.  In  the  charge  made  by 
the  second  regiment,  Major  Butler  fell  mortally  wound 

*Burnet's  Notes. 


46  THE   LIFE   OP 

ed,  and  every  officer  of  the  regiment  was  killed  or 
mortally  wounded,  except  three.  The  artillery  being 
silenced,  and  half  of  the  troops  slain,  the  General  saw 
no  other  means  of  saving  the  remnant  of  his  forces, 
than  to  make  a  retreat  while  it  was  yet  in  his  power. 
To  accomplish  this  object,  a  charge  was  made  on  the 
enemy,  which  was  so  far  successful  as  to  enable  him 
to  reach  the  road,  when  the  militia  commenced  a  hasty, 
and  soon  a  disorderly  retreat,  followed  by  the  United 
States  troops,  commanded  by  Major  Clark,  who  cov 
ered  their  rear.  The  camp  and  artillery  were  entire 
ly  abandoned.  The  men  threw  away  all  their  arms, 
accoutrements,  &c.,  in  their  flight,  even  after  the  pur 
suit,  which  was  continued  about  four  miles,  had  ceased.* 
The  greatest  confusion  and  panic  prevailed  amongst 
the  militia,  and  but  for  the  coolness  and  courage  of 
the  regular  troops  during  the  retreat,  the  army  would 
have  been  nearly  annihilated.  All  the  horses  of  the 
General  were  killed  in  the  action,  and  he  was  mounted 
on  a  broken-down  pack-horse  that  could  scarcely  be 
forced  out  of  a  walk,  so  that  it  was  impossible  for  him 
to  get  forward  in  person  to  command  a  halt,  and  or 
ders  dispatched  by  others  were  wholly  disregarded. 
The  rout  continued  as  far  as  Fort  Jefferson,  which 
they  had  erected  in  their  advance,  and  twenty-seven 
miles  distance  from  the  battle-ground,  where  they  ar 
rived  about  dark.  The  battle  lasted  about  three  hours, 
and  during  its  continuance  all  the  troops,  with  one 
exception,  acted  with  great  bravery. 
*Burnet's  Notes. 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  47 

The  loss  of  the  Americans  in  officers  was  even 
more  severe  than  in  men,  thirty-nine  having  been 
killed,  and  twenty-two  badly  wounded.  The  loss  in 
men  amounted,  in  killed  and  wounded,  to  about  seven 
hundred.  Although  the  army  amounted  to  two  thou 
sand  three  hundred  men,  rank  and  file,  when  it  took 
its  march  from  Ludlow's  station,  there  could  not  have 
been  over  fourteen  hundred  and  fifty  men  engaged  in 
the  action,  three  hundred  having  deserted  from  Fort 
Jefferson,  and  one  regiment  of  about  five  hundred  and 
fifty  having  been  ordered  back  to  bring  up  the  pro 
visions.  It  has  been  stated,  that  even  as  many  as  six 
hundred  and  thirty  were  killed,  and  two  hundred  and 
sixty-three  wounded.  But,  whether  the  loss  of  the 
Americans  was  as  great  as  this,  it  was  undoubtedly  one 
of  the  most  fatally  bloody  battles  ever  fought  in  this 
country,  and  the  great  disproportion  of  the  wounded 
to  the  killed  shows  with  what  desperate  bravery  they 
fought,  as  well  as  the  folly  of  further  resistance. 

The  intelligence  of  this  melancholy  and  disastrous 
defeat,  and  the  inglorious  termination  of  an  expedi 
tion  upon  which  such  high  hopes  had  been  placed,  fell 
like  a  thunderbolt  upon  the  government,  filling  the 
whole  country  with  consternation,  and  especially  the 
now  doubly  exposed  settlers  of  the  North-west.  It 
was  not  difficult  to  foresee,  that  such  an  overwhelm 
ing  defeat  of  an  army  which  had  inspired  such  strong 
confidence  of  success,  would  result  in  the  dissolution 
of  all  our  treaties  with  the  various  Indian  tribes  of 
the  North-west,  and  in  the  formation  of  a  general 


<*  THE    LIFE   OF 

confederacy  amongst  them  against  the  United  States. 
This  confederacy  was  entered  into  not  long  after  St. 
Glair's  defeat. 

Such  was  the  discouraging  situation  of  affairs,  and 
such  the  alarm  that  everywhere  prevailed  when  En 
sign  Harrison  arrived  at  Fort  Washington  to  enter 
upon  his  military  career ;  and  it  must  be  confessed, 
that  it  presented  but  a  dark  and  discouraging  pros 
pect,  and  but  a  barren  field  for  reaping  laurels,  or 
gratifying  ambition.  But  it  was  the  field  upon  which 
he  voluntarily  entered,  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years, 
not  simply  to  gratify  either  ambition,  or  reap  laurels, 
but  in  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  what  could  only 
have  been  patriotic  duty. 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARBISON.  49 


CHAPTER    III. 

ENSIGN  Harrison  arrived  at  Fort  Washington  and 
joined  his  regiment  just  in  season  to  witness  the  re 
turn  of  the  dispirited  and  care-worn  fragments  of 
General  St.  Glair's  army,  and  entered  with  cheerful 
ness  and  zeal  upon  the  trying  and  dangerous  duties 
of  his  new  position. 

The  period  for  which  the  militia  had  enlisted  had 
expired,  and  the  detachment  of  the  second  regiment 
of  United  States  troops,  which  was  in  the  army  un 
der  St.  Clair,  was  entirely  cut  up.  The  task,  there 
fore,  of  maintaining  the  long  line  of  posts  that  had 
been  erected,  of  establishing  new  ones,  and  of  afford 
ing  convoys  for  provisions,  devolved  upon  an  inconsid 
erable  body,  composed  of  between  three  and  four  hun 
dred  of  the  first  regiment,  and  the  miserable  remnant 
of  General  St.  Glair's  shattered  army.  In  this  con 
dition  of  affairs,  Harrison  was  appointed  to  take  com 
mand  of  a  detachment  of  twenty  men  who  had  been 
ordered  to  escort  a  number  of  pack-horses  to  Fort 
Hamilton.  This  duty,  it  can  be  very  easily  under 
stood,  was  one  attended  with  great  danger  and  expo 
sure  to  hardships  of  every  kind.  It  would  necessa 
rily  expose  him  to  singular  difficulties,  distresses,  and 
5 


50  THE    LIFE    OP 

privations,  as  well  as  to  the  hazard  of  being  surprised 
and  cut  off  by  the  Indians.  He  was  compelled  to 
lay  out  unsheltered,  although  it  was  the  commence 
ment  of  winter,  exposed  to  the  inclemency  of  the 
weather,  to  rain  and  snow,  with  no  protection  but 
such  as  his  blanket  afforded,  and  no  security  against 
the  attacks  of  savages  but  his  own  vigilance.  Yet,  in 
spite  of  every  obstacle,  he  accomplished  the  hazardous 
enterprise  so  entirely  to  the  satisfaction  of  General 
St.  Glair  as  to  receive  his  public  thanks  for  the  fidel 
ity  and  good  conduct  he  displayed. 

The  fatal  termination  of  the  expeditions  under 
General  Harmar  and  General  St.  Glair  enforced  upon 
Congress  the  absolute  necessity  of  adopting  some 
more  effectual  means  of  repressing  the  Indians,  and 
of  putting  an  end  to  their  barbarities.  It  was  clear 
that  a  larger  and  more  efficient  and  better  disciplined 
force  must  be  raised,  and  a  more  cautious  system  of 
operations  pursued.  Accordingly,  an  act  of  Congress 
was  passed  for  raising  a  considerable  army ;  and 
in  April,  1792,  General  Anthony  Wayne,  who  had 
rendered  his  name  illustrious  during  the  revolution 
ary  struggle,  was  nominated  by  President  Washing 
ton  to  take  command  of  it,  with  the  title  of  Major- 
General.  In  order  to  provide  against  the  error  which 
had  mainly  contributed  to  the  defeat  of  both  General 
Harmar  and  General  St.  Clair,  which  was  conceded 
to  be  a  want  of  discipline, — though  a  want  of  pro 
vision  also  contributed  its  full  share  to  those  misfor 
tunes, — the  whole  of  the  year  1792,  and  the  winter 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  51 

and  spring  of  1793,  were  employed  in  recruiting  the 
army,  and  in  instructing  them  in  military  discipline. 
The  new  troops  were  stationed  under  General  Wayne, 
at  first  at  Pittsburgh,  and  then  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio,  a  few  miles  below  Cincinnati.  Here  Harrison 
joined  the  army  in  June,  1793,  and  was  appointed 
second  aid-de-camp  to  the  commander-in-chief,  having 
the  year  before  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Lieu 
tenant  in  the  first  regiment.  The  negotiations  which 
had  some  time  before  been  entered  into  with  the  In 
dians,  having  entirely  failed  and  been  broken  off,  the 
army  took  up  their  march  for  Greenville,  in  Sep 
tember.  It  consisted  of  four  thousand  five  hundred 
effective  regulars,  including  some  troops  of  dragoons, 
and  of  an  auxiliary  force  of  two  thousand  mounted 
militia,  under  the  command  of  General  Scott.  But 
an  early  frost  setting  in,  rendered  it  advisable  to  go 
into  winter  quarters.  Huts  were  therefore  built,  and 
a  system  of  discipline,  calculated  to  prepare  the 
troops  for  the  kind  of  warfare  they  were  about  to  en 
ter  upon,  was  diligently  put  in  practice.  Here  Har 
rison  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  the  study  and 
practice  of  his  profession,  and  with  such  success  as 
to  obtain  the  confidence  of  his  commander  and  the 
attachment  of  his  associates.  The  army  continued 
in  their  encampment  until  near  the  last  of  June,  1794. 
Having  then  been  joined  by  the  mounted  volunteers 
from  Kentucky,  arrangements  were  promptly  made 
for  entering  upon  the  .campaign,  by  advancing  into 
the  Indian  country. 


52  THE    LIFE    OP 

So  perfect  were  the  precautions  taken  by  General 
Wayne  to  guard  against  embarrassments,  that  no  de 
lay  nor  difficulty  attended  his  march.  For  the  pur 
pose  of  deceiving  the  enemy  in  regard  to  his  move 
ments,  he  made  such  demonstrations  as  induced  them 
to  expect  he  would  advance  in  a  different  direction 
from  the  one  he  had  selected.  By  this  expedient,  he 
arrived  almost  in  sight  of  Auglaize,  the  great  empo 
rium  of  the  enemy,  and  took  possession  of  it  on  the 
8th  of  August,  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man.  All 
their  property  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans. 

The  enemy  were  collected  at  the  foot  of  the  Rap 
ids  in  great  force.  They  had  been  joined  by  the 
militia  of  Detroit  and  a  portion  of  the  regular  army, 
and  had  selected  an  elevated  plain  at  that  place  for 
the  contest.  General  Wayne  advanced  upon  the  main 
body  on  the  20th  of  August,  which  was  drawn  up 
under  the  cover  of  a  British  fort.  A  battallion  of 
mounted  volunteers,  commanded  by  Major  Price, 
moved  in  front  of  the  legion,  who  marched  sufficiently 
in  advance  to  give  timely  notice  for  the  troops  to  form 
in  case  of  an  attack.  When  he  had  proceeded  about 
five  miles,  so  severe  a  fire  was  opened  upon  him  by 
the  enemy,  secreted  in  grass  and  woods,  as  to  cause 
him  to  fall  back ;  but  the  troops  soon  after  came  in 
view  of  the  enemy. 

The  Indians  held  a  position  admirably  suited  to 
their  peculiar  mode  of  warfare,  being  within  a  thick 
wood  of  felled  trees  that  had  been  torn  up  by  a  hur 
ricane.  Their  line  was  formed  in  three  divisions, 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  53 

within  supporting  distance  of  each  other,  and  extend 
ing  two  miles  at  right  angles  with  the  river.  It  was 
at  once  seen  by  the  commanding  General,  that  an 
enemy  thus  posted  could  not  be  successfully  attacked 
with  cavalry,  -and  that  a  regular  fire  in  line  must 
prove  equally  unsuccessful.  He  therefore  determined 
to  commence  the  engagement  by  an  attack  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet,  and  for  this  purpose  he  ordered 
his  troops  to  march  through  the  woods  with  trailed 
arms,  and  to  drive  the  Indians  from  their  covert  with 
charged  bayonets.  As  soon  as  they  were  forced  from 
their  hiding  place,  he  directed  a  close  fire  to  be  opened 
upon  them,  followed  by  a  brisk  charge,  so  as  to  pre 
vent  them  from  loading  a  second  time.  The  cavalry, 
commanded  by  Captain  Campbell,  and  the  mounted 
infantry,  under  Major-General  Scott,  were  ordered 
to  turn  the  flanks  of  the  enemy  by  circuitous  routes. 

These  various  orders  were  all  obeyed  with  such 
spirit  and  promptitude, — such  was  the  impetuosity 
and  immediate  success  of  the  charge  made  by  the  first 
line  of  infantry,  however, — that  the  Indians,  Canadian 
militia  and  volunteers,  were  driven  from  their  coverts 
before  the  second  line,  and  General  Scott,  with  his 
mounted  volunteers,  could  possibly  reach  their  posi 
tion  in  time  for  all  of  them  to  participate  in  the 
action.  The  enemy  were  driven  for  more  than  two 
miles  through  the  woods,  in  the  course  of  an  hour,  by 
a  force  not  half  as  numerous  as  their  own.  They 
were  estimated  to  be  two  thousand  strong  of  fighting 
men,  while  the  American  troops,  who  actually  parti- 
5* 


54  THE   LIFE   OF 

cipated  in  the  action,  did  not  exceed  nine  hundred ; 
yet  the  savages  and  their  allies  fled  in  all  directions 
in  the  utmost  confusion,  leaving  the  Americans  in 
full  and  undisturbed  possession  of  the  field  of  battle. 
The  engagement  was  begun,  and  terminated  within 
sight  of  the  British  Fort,  and  under  the  very  muzzle 
of  their  guns.  They  did  not  deem  it  prudent,  how 
ever,  openly  to  interfere  in  behalf  of  those  whom  they 
had  so  industriously  and  insidiously  incited  to  take  up 
arms  against  the  Americans. 

The  victory  of  the  Americans  was  decisive  and 
complete,  and  attended  with  the  most  important  re 
sults.  As  the  intelligence  of  it  was  received  in  differ 
ent  parts  of  the  country,  it  created  the  liveliest  feel 
ings  of  joy.  The  bravery  and  good  conduct  of  every 
officer  belonging  to  the  army,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
common  soldiers,  received  the  warmest  approbation 
of  the  country,  as  well  as  the  special  commendation 
of  the  Commander-in-chief.  This  was  the  first  gen 
eral  action  in  which  Lieutenant  Harrison  was  engag 
ed,  and  General  Wayne  paid  him  the  very  highest 
compliment  for  the  efficient  aid  he  rendered  him,  and 
for  his  gallantry,  courage,  and  zeal  throughout  the 
battle.  He  had  been  appointed  by  the  General,  to 
assist  in  forming  the  left  wTing  of  the  regular  troops,. 
a  task  of  extreme  difficulty,  owing  to  the  thickness  of 
the  woods  in  which  they  were  posted,  but  one  that 
he  accomplished  with  great  skill  and  effect.  In  clos 
ing  his  official  report  of  this  battle,  General  Wayne 
does  full  justice  to  Harrison  by  declaring  that  he 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  55 

K  rendered  the  most  essential  services  by  communi 
cating  his  orders  in  every  direction,  and  by  his  brave 
ry  in  exciting  the  troops  to  press  for  victory." 

An  incident  characteristic  of  the  coolness,  intre 
pidity,  and  enthusiastic  efforts  on  the  field  of  battle, 
is  related  by  one  who  was  a  participant  in  the  action, 
and  an  eye-witness  to  the  gallantry  of  Lieutenant 
Harrison.  The  old  soldier,  from  whose  interesting 
narrative  of  the  victory  at  the  Rapids  the  incident  is 
taken,  says  that,  when  the  battle  was  raging  hottest, 
many  in  that  wing  of  the  army  where  he  was,  were 
beginning  to  falter  and  to  think  of  a  retreat.  Just  at 
the  moment  that  this  feeling  began  to  become  preva 
lent,  a  young  lieutenant  who  was  known  as  the  con 
fidential  aid  of  old  Mad  Anthony,  galloped  up  to  the 
line,  and  called  to  the  men  with  a  voice  that  was  heard 
above  the  roar  of  battle,  "  Onward,  my  brave  fellows  ! 
the  enemy  are  flying — one  fire  more,  and  the  day  is 
ours."  This  gallant  young  lieutenant,  it  will  be  un 
derstood,  was  William  Henry  Harrison. 

By  the  official  returns  of  the  adjutant-general,  it 
appears  that  the  number  of  the  Americans  killed  in 
the  action,  including  those  who  subsequently  died  from 
their  wounds,  was  thirty-nine,  and  the  number  of 
wounded  one  hundred.  The  killed  and  wounded  of 
the  enemy  were  estimated  to  be  more  than  double  that 
of  the  Americans.  For  some  distance  the  woods  were 
strewed  with  their  dead  bodies.  A  large  number  fell 
on  the  prairie  in  attempting  to  gain  the  river,  or  were 
shot  while  in  the  act  of  crossing  it. 


56  THE   LIFE   OP 

The  army  remained  on  the  field  of  battle  for  three 
days,  during  which  time  the  duty  was  assigned  to 
Lieutenant  Harrison,  and  three  or  four  other  officers, 
by  General  Wayne,  of  accompanying  him  in  making 
a  critical  examination  of  the  British  fort,  which  was 
found  to  be  a  regular  military  work  of  great  strength. 
This  close  and  daring  scrutiny,  however,  did  not  pre 
cisely  accord  with  the  notions  Major  Campbell,  the 
commander  of  the  fort,  had  formed  of  the  dignity  of 
his  sovereign  and  his  own  importance,  and  led  to  a 
correspondence  so  characteristic,  at  least  on  the  part 
of  General  Wayne,  as  to  deserve  being  extracted. 

On  the  21st  of  August,  the  day  after  the  battle  of 
the  Maumee,  Major  Campbell  addressed  the  following 
supercilious  note  to  General  Wayne : 

"  Sir, — An  army  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
said  to  be  under  your  command,  having  taken  post  on 
the  banks  of  the  Miami,  for  upwards  of  the  last  twen 
ty-four  hours,  almost  within  reach  of  the  guns  of 
this,  being  a  post  belonging  to  His  Majesty,  the  King 
of  Great  Britain,  occupied  by  His  Majesty's  troops, 
and  which  I  have  the  honor  to  command,  it  becomes 
my  duty  to  inform  myself,  as  speedily  as  possible,  in 
what  light  I  am  to  view  your  making  such  near  ap 
proaches  to  this  garrison.  I  have  no  hesitation,  on 
my  part,  to  say  that  I  know  of  no  war  existing  be 
tween  Great  Britain  and  America." 

To  this  insolent  demand  General  Wayne  thus  re 
plied  under  the  same  date :  "  Sir,-; — I  have  received 
your  letter  of  this  date,  requiring  from  me  the  motives 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  57 

.which  have  moved  the  army  under  my  command  to 
the  position  they  at  present  occupy,  far  within  the 
acknowledged  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  of 
America. 

"Without  questioning  the  authority,  or  the  pro 
priety,  Sir,  of  your  interrogatories,  I  think  I  may, 
without  breach  of  decorum,  observe  to  you  that  were 
you  entitled  to  an  answer,  the  most  full  and  satisfac 
tory  one  was  announced  to  you  from  the  muzzles 
of  my  small-arms,  yesterday  morning,  in  the  action 
against  the  hordes  of  savages  in  the  vicinity  of  your 
post,  which  terminated  gloriously  to  the  American 
arms ;  but  had  it  continued  till  the  Indians,  &c.,  were 
driven  under  the  influence  of  the  post  and  guns  you 
mention,  they  would  not  have  much  impeded  the  pro 
gress  of  the  victorious  army  under  my  command,  as 
no  such  post  was  established  at  the  commencement 
of  the  present  war  between  the  Indians  and  the  United 
States." 

On  the  next  day,  22nd  of  August,  Major  Campbell 
again  addressed  General  Wayne,  and  in  equally  swell 
ing  terms,  under  the  judicious  pretence  of  wishing 
to  a,void  so  dreadful  an  alternative  as  commencing 
hostilities  against  him,  he  says  :  "  Sir, — Although 
your  letter  of  yesterday's  date  fully  authorizes  me  to 
any  act  of  hostility  against  the  army  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  this  neighborhood,  under  your 
command,  yet,  still  anxious  to  prevent  that  dreadful 
decision,  which,  perhaps,  is  not  intended  to  be  ap 
pealed  to,  by  either  of  our  countries,  I  have  forborn, 


58  THE   LIFE   OF 

for  these  two  days  past,  to  resent  the  insults  you  have 
offered  the  British  flag,  flying  at  this  post,  by  ap 
proaching  it  within  pistol  shot  of  my  works,  not  only 
singly,  but  in  numbers,  with  arms  in  their  hands. 
Neither  is  it  my  wish  to  wage  war  upon  individuals. 
But  should  you,  after  this,  continue  to  approach  my 
post  in  the  threatening  manner  you  are  at  this  mo 
ment  doing,  my  indispensable  duty  to  my  king  and 
country,  and  the  honor  of  my  profession,  will  oblige 
me  to  have  recourse  to  those  measures,  which  thou 
sands  of  either  nation  may  hereafter  have  cause  to 
regret,  and  which,  I  solemnly  appeal  to  God,  I  have 
used  my  utmost  endeavor  to  arrest." 

Nowise  alarmed  by  this  threatening  epistle,  Gen 
eral  Wayne  returned  the  following  reply  the  same 
day:  "Sir, — In  your  letter  of  the  21st  instant,  you 
declare,  'I  have  no  hesitation,  on  my  part,  to  say, 
that  I  know  of  no  war  existing  between  Great  Britain 
and  America.'  I,  on  my  part,  declare  the  same,  and 
the  only  cause  I  have  to  entertain  a  contrary  idea, 
at  this  time,  is  the  hostile  act  you  are  now  in  the 
commission  of,  i.  e.  by  recently  taking  post  far  within 
the  well-known  and  acknowledged  limits  of  the  United 
States,  and  erecting  a  fortification  in  the  heart  of  the 
settlements  of  the  Indian  tribes,  now  at  war  with  the 
United  States.  This,  Sir,  seems  to  be  an  act  of  the 
highest  aggression,  and  destructive  to  the  peace  and 
interest  of  the  Union.  Hence  it  becomes  my  duty  to 
desire,  and  I  do  hereby  desire  and  demand,  in  the 
name  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  that  you 


\VILLIAM    HENRY   HATCRISON.  69 

immediately  desist  from  any  further  act  of  hostility 
or  aggression,  by  forbearing  to  fortify,  and  by  with 
drawing  the  troops,  artillery,  and  stores,  under  your 
orders  and  direction,  forthwith,  and  removing  to  the 
nearest  post  occupied  by  His  Britannic  Majesty's 
troops  at  the  peace  of  1783 ;  and  which  you  will  be 
permitted  to  do  unmolested  by  the  troops  under  my 
command." 

The  following  reply  of  Major  Campbell  to  the 
above,  and  bearing  the  same  date,  closed  this  some 
what  tart  correspondence  :  "  Sir, — I  have  the  honor 
this  moment  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter, 
in  answer  to  which  I  have  only  to  say,  that  being 
placed  here  in  the  command  of  a  British  post,  and 
acting  in  a  military  capacity  only,  I  cannot  enter  in 
to  any  discussion,  either  on  the  right  or  impropriety 
of  my  occupying  my  present  position.  These  are 
matters  that  I  conceive  will  be  best  left  to  the  am 
bassadors  of  our  different  nations.  Having  said  this 
much,  permit  me  to  inform  you,  that  I  certainly  will 
not  abandon  this  post  at  the  summons  of  any  person 
whatever,  until  I  receive  orders  for  that  purpose  from 
those  I  have  the  honor  to  serve  under,  or  the  fortune 
of  war  should  oblige  me.  I  must  still  adhere  to  the 
purport  of  my  letter,  this  morning,  to  desire  that  your 
army,  or  individuals  belonging  to  it,  will  not  approach 
within  reach  of  my  cannon,  without  expecting  the 
consequences  attending  it. 

"  Although  I  have  said,  in  the  former  part  of  my 
letter,  that  my  situation  here  is  totally  military,  yet 


60  THE    LIFE    OF 

let  me  add,  Sir,  that  I  am  much  deceived  if  His 
Majesty,  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  had  not  a  post 
on  this  river  at  and  prior  to  the  period  you  mention." 

General  Wayne  did  not  deem  the  longer  contin 
uance  of  this  correspondence  would  lead  to  any  prof 
itable  result,  and  the  only  reply  he  made  to  it,  there 
fore,  was  by  laying  waste  the  country  and  destroying 
everything  of  value  within  view  of  the  fort,  and  in 
deed  within  reach  of.  their  guns.  Major  Campbell 
thought  it  the  safest  policy  not  to  put  in  execution 
the  threats  he  had  made,  by  seeking  to  resent  these 
indignities.  From  the  daring  character  of  General 
Wayne,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  his  object  was 
to  provoke  the  British  commander  to  fire  upon  him 
as  a  pretext  for  attacking  his  fort. 

Having  accomplished  the  object  of  his  expedition, 
and  so  broken  the  power  of  the  confederation  as  to 
discourage  the  Indians  from  immediately  risking 
another  battle,  General  Wayne  returned  to  Grand- 
Glaize,  where  he  arrived  on  the  27th  of  August,  and 
commenced  fortifying  his  position.  But  signal  as  his 
victory  was  over  the  savages,  the  main  body  of  the 
enemy  still  remained  in  arms, — though  it  had  deterred 
many  tribes  from  their  cause, — while  his  own  force 
was  gradually  growing  weaker.  Apprehensions  were 
therefore  entertained  that  a  discovery  of  the  real 
condition  of  the  American  forces  would  prevent  the 
enemy  from  entering  into  any  negotiations  for  peace, 
;md  the  utmost  caution  was  observed  to  keep  them 
ignorant  of  their  real  strength.  Preparations  were 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  61 

also  made  to  recruit  the  army.  In  the  meantime 
there  was  a  growing  anxiety  on  both  sides  for  peace. 
The  Indians  had  been  stunned  by  the  blow  they  had 
received  from  General  Wayne,  and  prepared  by  it  to 
listen  to  terms.  A  proposition  was  therefore  made 
by  General  Wayne,  to  all  the  tribes  at  war  with  the 
United  States,  to  assemble  at  Greenville,  with  the 
view  of  agreeing  upon  some  terms  of  reconciliation. 
After  some  delay  and  much  correspondence  a  gen 
eral  council  was  assembled  at  that  place,  which  re 
sulted  in  the  "  Treaty  of  Greenville, "  by  which 
universal  peace  was  once  more  restored  to  the  North 
west.  This  treaty  was  concluded  on  the  3rd  of  Au 
gust,  1795,  and  was  signed  by  ten  of  the  Indian 
tribes  who  had  so  long  waged  a  relentless  war  upon 
the  United  States. 

The  efficient  services  rendered  by  Lieutenant  Har 
rison  during  this  whole  campaign,  and  the  evidence  of 
courage,  zeal,  and  ability  he  had  so  often  given,  in 
spired  General  Wayne  with  such  confidence  in  his 
character  as  an  officer  of  prudence  and  judgment,  as 
well  as  of  ability  and  courage,  that  soon  after  the 
peace  of  Greenville,  he  was  entrusted  with  the  impor 
tant  and  responsible  command  of  Fort  Washington, 
though  then  only  twenty-three  years  old.  He  had  a 
short  time  previously  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
Captain,  an  honor  he  had  well  earned  by  his  good 
conduct  in  the  recent  campaign. 

While  in  command  of  Fort  Washington,  in  the 
autumn  of  1795,  Captain  Harrison  was  married  to  the 
6 


THE  LIFE  OP 

youngest  daughter  of  Honorable  John  Cleres  Symmes, 
one  of  the  judges  of  the  north-west  territory,  and 
the  distinguished  founder  of  the  Miami  settlement,  a 
lady  who  still  survives  him,  and  whose  mental  accom 
plishments  and  private  virtues  gave  grace  and  dignity 
to  her  character  as  a  wife  and  a  mother,  in  the  do 
mestic  and  social  circle,  or  presiding  over  the  presi 
dential  mansion.  An  anecdote  is  related,  in  connection 
with  his  marriage  to  this  lady,  which  illustrates  a  re 
markable  trait  in  Harrison's  character,  and  which,  as 
much  as  any  other,  was  the  moving  principle  of  his 
life.  It  was  his  perfect  reliance  on  his  own  energies 
to  work  out  his  own  fortune.  On  applying  to  Mr. 
Symmes  for  permission  to  address  his  daughter,  he 
was  asked  what  were  his  resources  for  maintaining  a 
wife.  Placing  his  hand  upon  his  sword,  he  replied, 
with  as  much  confidence  as  though  he  were  pointing 
to  his  coffers  and  his  title-deeds,  "  This  is  my  means 
of  support."  Mr.  Symmes  was  so  much  delighted 
with  the  cool  self-reliance  and  daring  chivalry  dis 
played  by  the  young  soldier,  that  he  at  once  yielded 
a  cheerful  assent  to  the  proposal. 

Captain  Harrison  remained  in  command  of  Fort 
Washington,  and  had  the  management  of  the  large 
amount  of  public  property  collected  at  this  post,  until 
the  spring  of  1798.  Peace  then  being  restored  through 
out  the  North-west,  the  object  which  principally 
prompted  him  to  enter  the  army,  and  there  being  no 
further  use  for  his  services,  he  resigned  his  commis 
sion  and  retired  to  his  farm,  at  North  Bend,  with 


WILLIAM   HENRY  HARRISON  63 

the  intention  thereafter  of  devoting  his  time  to  the 
peaceful  and  more  congenial  pursuits  of  agriculture. 
He  was  not  permitted  long  to  indulge  his  desire,  how 
ever.  Almost  immediately  after  resigning  his  commis 
sion  he  was  appointed,  by  President  Adams,  secretary 
of  the  north-west  territory,  in  the  place  of  Winthrop 
Sargeant,  Esq.,  who  had  been  promoted  to  the  office 
of  Governor  of  Mississippi,  or  south-western  territory. 
By  virtue  of  this  office  he  was  ex-officio  Lieutenant 
Governor,  and  in  the  absence  of  Governor  St.  Clair 
from  the  territory,  the  executive  duties  of  his  office 
devolved  upon  him.  These  he  discharged  in  a  manner 
so  satisfactory  to  the  people  as  to  win  their  uni 
versal  approbation. 

The  population  of  the  north-western  territory  hav 
ing  been  ascertained  to  amount  to  five  thousand  white 
male  inhabitants,  the  territory  was  entitled,  as  a 
matter  of  right,  to  enter  upon  the  second  grade  of  ter 
ritorial  government  under  the  provisions  of  the  ordi 
nance  of  1787,  and  to  a  delegate  in  Congress.  Meas 
ures  were  therefore  taken  to  organize  a  territorial 
government,  and  Jacob  Burnnet,  James  Findlay, 
Harvy  Vanderberg,  Robert  Oliver,  and  David  Vance, 
were  appointed  by  the  President  to  be  members  of  a 
legislative  council.  They  were  selected  from  amongst 
a  list  of  ten  persons  that  had  previously  been 
chosen  and  sent  to  the  President  by  the  first  general 
assembly  of  the  territory  elected  in  pursuance  of  the 
proclamation  by  Governor  St.  Clair. 

This    first    legislative    assembly   of    the   north- 


64  THE    LIFE    OF 

western  territory,  assembled  at  Cincinnati  on  the  16th 
day  of  September,  1799.  Of  the  character  of  the 
members  who  composed  it,  and  of  the  considerations 
which  controlled  the  people  in  electing  them,  it  has 
been  said  by  one  whose  position  and  ability  gave  him 
the  means  of  judging  more  correctly  than  any  other 
man  in  the  territory,*  that  in  choosing  members 
of  the  territorial  legislature,  the  people  in  almost  ev 
ery  instance  selected  the  strongest  and  best  men  in 
their  respective  counties.  Party  influence  was  scarcely 
felt,  and  it  may  be  said  with  confidence,  that  no  legis 
lature  has  been  chosen  under  the  State  government, 
which  contained  a  larger  proportion  of  aged  and  intel 
ligent  men  than  were  found  in  that  body.  Many  of 
them,  it  is  true,  were  unacquainted  with  the  forms  and 
practical  duties  of  legislation,  but  they  were  strong 
minded,  sensible  men,  acquainted  with  the  wants  and 
condition  of  the  country,  and  could  form  correct 
opinions  of  the  operation  of  any  measure  for  their 
consideration. 

Upon  this  legislature  devolved  the  duty  of  elect 
ing  a  delegate  to  represent  the  territory  in  Congress. 
This  subject  had  excited  much  attention  from  the  mo 
ment  the  proclamation  of  the  Governor  ordering  an 
election  had  been  published.  But  before  the  legis 
lature  met,  public  opinion  had  settled  down  on  William 
Henry  Harrison,  and  Arthur  St.  Clair,  jr.,  a  son  of 
Governor  St.  Clair,  who  were  the  only  candidates  for 
the  office.  On  the  3rd  of  October  the  two  branches 

*  Judge  Jacob  Burnnet  of  Cincinnati. — Burnefx  Notes. 


WILLIAM   HENRY    HARRISON.  65 

met  in  convention  for  the  purpose  of  proceeding  to  an 
election,  and  Harrison  was  elected  on  the  first  ballot 
by  a  vote  of  twelve  to  ten.  On  being  furnished  with 
a  certificate  of  his  election,  he  resigned  the  office  of 
secretary  of  the  territory,  and  proceeded  to  Phila 
delphia,  where  Congress  was  then  in  session. 

He  at  once  took  his  seat  and  entered  actively  upon 
the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  position.  He  did 
not  retain  it  but  a  single  session,  however,  but  he 
succeeded  in  that  brief  period  in  securing  several 
important  advantages  for  his  constituents.  Amongst 
other  beneficent  measures  of  legislation  which  he 
induced  Congress  to  adopt  for  their  benefit,  was  a 
law  authorizing  the  surveys  of  the  public  lands  to  be 
subdivided,  and  requiring  them  to  be  offered  for  sale 
in  small  lots.  This  important  act  he  succeeded  in 
getting  through  both  branches  of  Congress  in  spite  of 
the  most  determined  opposition  of  interested  specula 
tors,  who  had  till  then  monopolized  the  whole  business 
of  selling  lands  to  the  poorer  class  of  settlers,  at  their 
own  exorbitant  prices.  This  act  was  hailed  as  the 
most  beneficent  measure  that  Congress  had  ever  adopt 
ed  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  of  the  West.  It  put 
it  in  the  power  of  every  industrious  man,  however 
poor  he  might  be,  to  become  a  freeholder,— to  culti 
vate  his  own  domain  and  lay  a  foundation  for  the 
support  and  future  comfort  of  his  family.*  To  this 
single  act,  more  than  to  any  other  one  measure,  is  to 
be  attributed  the  wonderfully  rapid  growth  and  un- 

*  Bui-net's  Notes. 

6* 


66  THE   LIFE    OF 

precedented  improvement  and  prosperity  of  the  West. 
By  putting  in  the  power  of  every  man  to  become  an 
independent  land  owner,  it  started  such  a  tide  of 
emigration  westward  as  the  world  never  before 
witnessed. 

Another  act  of  great  importance  to  the  western 
settler  was  a  liberal  extension  of  the  time  of  payment 
in  behalf  of  those  persons  who  had  procured  pre 
emption  rights  to  lands  they  had  previously  bought  of 
Judge  Symmes,  lying  beyond  the  limits  of  his  patent, 
and  for  which  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  make  their 
titles.  The  effect  of  this  indulgence  to  the  class  of 
settlers  for  whose  relief  the  act  was  passed,  enabled 
them  to  secure  undisputed  titles  to  their  farms,  and 
ultimately  to  become  wealthy  men  and  enterprising 
and  useful  citizens. 

Soon  after  the  adoption  of  these  salutary  mea 
sures,  Mr.  Harrison  addressed  a  circular  to  the  people 
of  the  territory,  setting  forth  the  result  of  his  labors 
in  their  behalf.  In  this  circular  he  states,  that 
amongst  the  variety  of  subjects  that  engaged  his  at 
tention,  none  appeared  to  him  of  so  much  importance 
as  the  adoption  of  a  system  for  the  sale  of  public 
lands,  which  would  give  more  favorable  terms  to  that 
class  of  purchasers  who  are  likely  to  become  actual 
settlers,  than  was  offered  by  the  existing  laws  upon 
that  subject.  Conformably  to  this  idea,  he  procured 
the  passage  of  a  resolution,  at  an  early  period,  for 
the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  take  the  matter 
into  consideration,  and  shortly  after  reported  a  bill 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  67 

containing  terms  for  the  purchaser  as  favorable  as 
could  have  been  expected.  This  bill  was  adopted  by 
the  House  without  any  material  alteration ;  but  in 
the  Senate,  amendments  were  introduced,  obliging  the 
purchaser  to  pay  interest  on  the  money  for  which  a 
credit  was  given,  from  the  date  of  the  purchase,  and 
directing  that  one-half  of  the  land  (instead  of  the 
whole,  as  was  provided  by  the  bill  from  the  House 
of  Representatives)  should  be  sold  in  half  sections  of 
three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  and  the  other  half 
in  whole  sections  of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres.  All 
his  efforts,  aided  by  some  of  the  ablest  members  of 
the  lower  House,  at  a  conference  for  that  purpose, 
were  not  sufficient  to  induce  the  Senate  to  recede 
from  their  amendments.  But  still  he  felt  that  there 
was  great  cause  of  congratulation  to  the  people  of 
the  territory,  as  the  bill  still  contained  as  favorable 
terms  as  could  be  procured.  The  law,  he  said,  prom 
ised  to  be  the  foundation  of  a  great  increase  to  the 
population  and  wealth  of  the  country,  an  anticipation 
that  has  been  realized  far  beyond  what  he  could  have 
foreseen. 

Though  the  minimum  price  of  lands  was  still  fixed 
at  two  dollars,  the  time  for  making  payments  was  so 
extended  as  to  put  it  in  the  power  of  every  industri 
ous  man  to  comply  with  them,  it  being  only  necessary 
to  pay  one-fourth  of  the  money  in  hand,  and  the  bal 
ance  at  the  end  of  two,  three,  and  four  years.  The 
odious  circumstance  of  forfeiture  which  was  made  the 
penalty  of  failing  in  the  payments  under  the  old  law 


68  THE   LIFE    OP 

was  also  entirely  abolished,  and  the  purchaser  allowed 
one  year,  after  the  last  payment  should  become  due, 
to  collect  the  money.  If  the  land  should  not  then  be 
paid  for,  the  balance  of  the  money,  after  reimburs 
ing  the  government,  was  to  be  returned  to  the  pur 
chaser. 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON 


CHAPTER    IV. 

IT  was  during  this  session  of  Congress,  that  the 
North-western  Territory,  then  represented  by  Harri 
son,  was  divided,  and  the  new  Territory  of  Indiana 
established.  Not  long  after  the  passage  of  the  Act 
creating  this  territory,  Mr.  Harrison  was  appointed 
its  first  governor  and  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs, 
by  President  Adams,  and  immediately  thereupon  re 
signed  his  seat  in  Congress,  with  the  view  of  entering 
upon  the  duties  of  the  office.  The  region  embraced 
within  the  new  territory  included  what  now  constitutes 
the  States  of  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin, 
and  Iowa.  All  this  vast  region,  now  inhabited  by  a 
hardy,  enterprising  population  of  two  millions  and  a 
half  of  people,  contained  at  that  time,  a  short  half 
century  ago,  only  a  population  of  five  thousand  souls, 
thinly  scattered  through  the  vast  wilderness  of  the 
territory,  with  only  three  white  settlements  of  any 
note  within  its  boundaries.  One  of  these  was  Vin- 
cennes,  the  seat  of  government,  a  beautiful  town  situ*- 
ated  on  the  Wabash,  and  originally  settled  by  the 
French.  The  second  was  known  as  Clark's  Grant,  at 
the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  nearly  opposite  Louisville ;  and 
the  other,  a  French  settlement  on  the  Mississippi,  not 


70  THE   LIFE.  OF 

far  from  St.  Louis,  and  more  than  two  hundred  miles 
from  the  seat  of  government. 

The  whole  territory  was  inhabited  by  warlike  tribes 
of  Indians,  and  the  whole  country  overrun  by  their 
hunting-parties.  It  can  at  once  be  imagined  how  dan 
gerous  and  difficult  was  the  duty  of  keeping  open  a  com 
munication  between  these  distant  settlements.  Notwith 
standing  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  these  various  tribes 
retained  all  their  restless  hostility  towards  the  United 
States.  Their  natural  hatred,  too,  was  constantly 
stimulated  by  unscrupulous  British  agents,  who  con 
stantly  misrepresented  the  policy  of  the  American 
government,  and  by  presents  of  liquor  and  merchan 
dise,  fomented  their  passions,  and  excited  them  to  re 
sist  the  further  progress  of  the  white  settlers  to  the 
North-west.  Frequent  robberies  and  other  outrages 
were  committed,  and  sometimes  whole  families  were 
murdered,  and  their  cabins  burnt  to  the  ground.  These 
outrages  produced  retaliations,  and  the  consequence 
was  greatly  to  increase  the  deadly  hatred  that  existed 
between  the  Indians  and  Americans. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  Harrison  was 
appointed  Governor  of  Indiana  Territory.  Few  situ 
ations  could  be  more  encouraging,  or  surrounded 
with  more  incidents  less  embarrassing,  than  those  he 
.was  to  encounter  in  the  administration  of  its  govern 
ment.  With  such  difficulties,  as  have  been  enumer 
ated,  to  be  encountered  at  the  outset  of  his  admini 
stration,  it  was  no  less  a  matter  of  duty  than  of  neces 
sity,  that  he  should  be  clothed  with  the  amplest  inde- 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  71 

pendent  powers.  Understanding  this,  he  was  invested 
by  the  President  with  civil  as  well  as  military  powers 
of  the  most  important  nature.  Amongst  the  powers 
conferred  upon  him,  were  those,  jointly  with  the  judges, 
of  the  legislative  functions  of  the  territory,  the  ap 
pointment  of  all  the  civil  officers  within  the  territory, 
and  all  the  military  officers  of  a  grade  inferior  in  rank 
to  that  of  general,  commander-in-chief  of  the  militia, 
— the  absolute  and  uncontrolled  power  of  pardoning 
all  offenses, — sole  commissioner  of  treaties  with  the 
Indians,  with  unlimited  powers,  and  the  power  of 
confirming,  at  his  option,  all  grants  of  lands. 

These,  it  will  be  admitted,  were  dangerous  pow 
ers  to  place  in  the  hands  of  one  man,  and  nothing 
would  have  justified  the  government  in  placing  the 
lives,  liberty,  and  property  of  the  people  of  the  ter 
ritory  almost  literally,  at  the  disposal  of  Governor 
Harrison,  but  an  overruling  necessity  created  by  the 
peculiar  condition  of  the  territory,  and  the  undoubt- 
ing  confidence  with  which  his  well-tried  virtue  and 
inflexible  integrity  had  inspired  all  minds.  It  will 
be  seen  that  the  people  had  no  voice  whatever  in  the 
management  of  their  affairs,  and  that  their  interests 
of  every  kind  were  at  his  disposal. 

The  able,  faithful,  and  impartial  discharge  of  such 
absolute,  delicate,  and  responsible  duties  as  Harrison 
was  clothed  with,  it  is  obvious,  required  a  rare  com 
bination  of  moral  and  intellectual  qualities.  Yet,  del 
icate  and  responsible  as  they  were,  and  as  independ 
ent  as  he  was,  not  only  of  the  people,  but  even  of 


72  THE   LIFE   OF 

the  government,  the  high  honor  belongs  to  him  of 
never  having  abused  his  great  power  by  trampling  on 
the  rights  of  the  people,  or  consulting  his  own  inter 
ests  at  the  expense  of  the  public  good.  Though  he 
held  this  office  sixteen  years,  having  been  twice  reap- 
pointed  by  Jefferson,  and  once  by  Madison,  no  con 
sideration  of  private  gain  or  of  personal  ambition 
ever  severed  him  from  the  straight  line  of  his  duty, 
and  no  charge  either  of  tyranny  or  corruption  rests 
upon  his  memory.  The  legislative  council  and  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  territory,  the  officers  of 
the  militia,  the  citizens  of  St.  Louis,  when  their  con 
nection  with  Indiana  was  about  to  cease,  and  other 
public  and  private  bodies  of  the  people,  all  bore  the 
amplest  testimony  to  his  disinterested  integrity  and 
patriotic  devotion  to  the  welfare  of  the  territory. 

The  liberal  and  enlightened  policy  he  pursued 
during  his  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  terri 
tory  contributed  largely  to  the  rapid  settlement  and 
great  improvement  which  commenced  with  his  ap 
pointment,  and  which  have  continued  with  each  in 
creasing  year  to  the  present  time,  and  which  bid  fair 
to  increase  still  more  rapidly  for  many  years  to  come. 
The  moderation,  good  sense,  and  disinterestedness  with 
which  he  exercised  his  almost  unlimited  powers  won 
for  him  the  friendship  and  esteem  of  the  whole  peo 
ple.  In  the  management  of  the  Indian  affairs  of  the 
territory  he  was  equally  straightforward  and  upright, 
and  received  the  warm  approval  of  government  for 
the  promptness,  energy,  and  fidelity  with  which  he 
discharged  its  duties. 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  73 

A  leading  and  most  important  object  with  Governor 
Harrison  was  the  conciliation  of  the  warlike  tribes 
of  the  territory.  By  his  intimate  acquaintance  with 
the  Indian  character,  his  undaunted  firmness,  and 
the  reputation  he  had  established  amongst  them  by 
his  justice  and  impartiality,  as  by  -his  uniform  kind 
ness  of  manner  and  considerate  forbearance,  he  had 
inspired  their  confidence  and  respect.  He  was, 
therefore,  better  qualified  to  accomplish  this  purpose 
successfully  than  almost  any  other  man  in  the  Union. 
Owing  to  the  unremitting  efforts  of  British  minions, 
however,  he  did  not  entirely  succeed  in  allaying  the 
suspicions  and  jealousies  that  these  agents  so  con 
stantly  stimulated,  though  his  influence  was  suffi 
ciently  strong  over  them  to  prevent  any  open  out 
break  until  1811. 

In  1805,  it  being  ascertained  that  the  territory 
contained  a  sufficient  population,  it  was  advanced  to 
the  second  grade  of  government,  and  a  legislative 
council  was  selected  by  the  President,  and  a  House 
of  Assembly  chosen  by  the  people.  This  measure, 
of  course,  deprived  Governor  Harrison  of  much  of 
the  power  he  had  previously  possessed,  by  transfer 
ring  it .  from  him  to  the  people ;  but,  democratic  in 
his  principles  and  feelings,  it  met  his  hearty  concur 
rence  and  approbation. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  1803,  the  negotiations  that 

had  been  instituted  with  France,  for  the  purchase  of 

Louisiana,  were  brought  to  a  termination,  by  which 

the  immense  region  of  country,  known  as  the  ter- 

7 


74  THE  LIFE  Or 

ritory  of  Orleans,  now  the  State  of  Louisiana,  and 
the  District  of  Louisiana,  was  ceded  to  the  United 
States,  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of  fifteen  millions 
of  dollars.  In  the  following  December,  our  govern 
ment  took  possession  of  this  vast  region,  and  the 
boundaries  of  the  ancient  charters  of  the  British 
government  to  her  American  colonies  were  thus  real 
ized.  This  large  acquisition  to  our  territorial  pos 
sessions  greatly  enlarged  the  jurisdiction  of  Governor 
Harrison,  and  the  laborious  duties  and  responsibilities 
of  his  position  were  correspondingly  increased. 

In  his  first  address  to  the  territorial  legislature, 
two  years  after  the  annexation  of  Louisiana,  he  took 
occasion  to  refer  to  that  important  measure  at  length. 
His  message  on  this  subject  displayed  so  many  unmis 
takable  evidences  of  statesmanship,  and  such  striking 
indications  that  the  important  bearing  of  that  mea 
sure  upon  the  future  destiny  of  the  country  were  fully 
understood  by  him,  and  contained  withal  so  many 
noble  and  enlarged  sentiments,  that  an  extract  from 
that  part  of  it,  referring  particularly  to  this  question, 
will  be  found  of  interest. 

"  Upon  a  careful  review  of  our  situation,  it  will 
be  found  that  we  have  much  cause  of  felicitation, 
whether  it  respects  our  enjoyment  or  our  future  pros 
pects.  An  enlightened  and  generous  policy  has  for 
ever  removed  all  cause  of  contention  with  our  west 
ern  neighbors.  The  mighty  river  which  separates  us 
from  the  Louisianians  will  never  be  stained  with  the 
blood  of  contending  nations,  but  will  be  the  bond  of 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  75 

our  union,  and  will  convey  upon  its  bosom,  in  the 
course  of  many  thousand  miles,  the  produce  of  our 
great  and  united  empire.  The  astonished  traveler 
will  behold  upon  either  bank  a  people  governed  by 
the  same  laws,  pursuing  the  same  objects,  and  warmed 
by  the  same  love  of  liberty  and  science.  And  if,  in 
the  immense  distance,  a  small  point  should  present 
itself  where  other  laws  and  other  manners  prevail, 
the  contrast  it  will  afford  will  serve  the  useful  purpose 
of  demonstrating  the  great  superiority  of  a  repub 
lican  government,  and  how  far  the  uncontrolled  and 
unbiased  industry  of  freemen  excels  the  cautious  and 
measured  exertions  of  the  subjects  of  despotic  power. 

The  acquisition  of  Louisiana  will  form  an  impor 
tant  epoch  in  the  history  of  our  country.  It  has  se 
cured  the  happiness  of  millions,  who  will  bless  the 
moment  of  their  emancipation  and  the  generous  pol 
icy  which  has  secured  to  them  the  rights  of  men. 
To  us  it  has  produced  immediate  and  important  ad 
vantages.  We  are  no  longer  apprehensive  of  waging 
an  eternal  war  with  the  numerous  and  warlike  tribes 
of  aborigines  that  surround  us,  and  perhaps  being  re 
duced  to  the  dreadful  alternative  of  exterminating 
them  from  the  earth. 

By  cutting  off  their  communication  with  every 
foreign  power,  and  forcing  them  to  procure  from  our 
selves  the  arms  and  ammunition  and  such  of  the  Eu 
ropean  manufactures  as  habit  has  to  them  renderd 
necessary,  we  have  not  only  secured  their  entire  de 
pendence,  but  the  means  of  ameliorating  their  con- 


76  THE    LIFE   OF 

dition,  and  of  devoting  to  some  useful  and  beneficial 
purpose  the  ardor  and  energy  of  mind  which  are  now 
devoted  to  war  and  destruction.  The  policy  of  the 
United  States  with  regard  to  the  savages  within  their 
territories  forms  a  striking  contrast  with  the  conduct 
of  other  civilized  nations.  The  measures  of  the  lat 
ter  appear  to  have  been  well  calculated  for  the  effect 
which  has  produced  the  entire  extirpation  of  the  un 
happy  people  whose  country  they  have  usurped.  It  is 
in  the  United  States  alone  that  safety  and  protection 
from  every  species  of  injury,  and  considerable  sums  of 
money  have  been  appropriated,  and  agents  employed, 
to  humanize  their  minds,  and  instruct  them  in  such 
arts  of  civilized  life  as  they  are  capable  of  receiving. 
To  provide  a  substitute  for  the  chase,  from  which 
they  derive  their  support,  and  which  from  the  exten 
sion  of  our  settlements  is  daily  becoming  more  pre 
carious,  has  been  considered  a  sacred  duty.  The  hu 
mane  and  benevolent  intentions  of  the  government, 
however,  will  forever  be  defeated,  unless  effectual 
measures  be  devised  to  prevent  the  sale  of  ardent 
spirits  to  those  unfortunate  people.  The  law  which 
has  been  passed  by  Congress  for  that  purpose  has 
been  found  entirely  ineffectual,  because  its  operation 
has  been  construed  to  relate  to  the  Indian  country 
exclusively.  In  calling  your  attention  to  this  sub 
ject,  gentlemen,  I  am  persuaded  that  it  is  unne 
cessary  to  remind  you  that  the  article  of  compact 
makes  it  your  duty  to  attend  to  it.  The  interest 
of  your  constituents,  the  interest  of  the  miserable 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  77 

Indians,  and  your  own  feelings,  will  urge  you  to  take 
it  into  your  most  serious  consideration  and  provide 
the  remedy  which  is  to  save  thousands  of  our  fellow- 
creatures.  So  destructive  has  been  the  progress  of 
intemperance,  that  whole  villages  have  been  swept 
away.  A  miserable  remnant  is  all  that  remains  to 
mark  the  names  and  situation  of  many  numerous  and 
warlike  tribes. 

In  the  energetic  language  of  one  of  their  orators, 
it  is  a  dreadful  conflagration  which  spreads  misery 
and  desolation  through  their  country,  and  threatens 
the  annihilation  of  the  whole  race.  Is  it  then  to  be 
admitted  as  a  political  axiom  that  the  neighborhood 
of  a  civilized  nation  is  incompatible  with  the  exist 
ence  of  savages?  Are  the  blessings  of  our  repub 
lican  government  only  to  be  felt  by  ourselves  ?  And 
are  the  natives  of  North  America  to  experience  the 
same  fate  with  their  brethren  of  the  southern  con 
tinent?  It  is  with  you,  gentlemen,  to  divert  from 
these  children  of  nature  the  fate  that  hangs  over 

O 

them.  Nor  can  I  consider  that  the  time  will  be  con 
sidered  misspent,  which  is  devoted  to  an  object  which 
is  so  consistent  with  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  and 
with  the  principles  of  republicanism. 

During  this  time,  and  for  two  or  three  years  be 
fore,  events  had  been  maturing  with  the  various  In 
dian  tribes  of  the  North-west  which  produced  results 
that  were  the  ultimate  cause  of  the  war  of  1811. 
This  was  the  formation  of  a  general  league  amongst 
them.  "  It  was  not  finally  consummated,  however, 
7* 


78  THE   LIFE   OF 

until  the  following  year.  Various  causes  had  trans 
pired  to  keep  up  their  irritation  against  the  Amer 
icans.  The  active  agency  of  Britsh  minions  in  pro 
ducing  this  state  of  things  has  already  been  noticed. 
Other  causes  and  other  agents  were  still  more  pow 
erful.  Most  prominent  amongst  the  latter  of  these 
were  the  renowned  Indian  warrior  and  celebrated  or 
ator,  Tecumthe,  and  his  cunning  and  hypocritical 
brother  Olliwachica,  better  known  as  the  prophet. 
The  genius  of  the  one,  and  the  prophetical  character 
of  the  other,  gave  them  almost  an  unlimited  influence 
amongst  the  savage  tribes,  and  drew  around  them 
large  numbers  of  reckless  followers. 

A  confederacya  mongst  the  tribes,  along  the  whole 
frontier  against  the  United  States,  had  been  repeat 
edly  attempted  before,  but  never  with  success.  By 
the  wisdom  and  prudence  of  Governor  Harrison, 
aided  by  the  respect  he  had  inspired  amongst  the 
savages  by  his  courage  and  high  character  for  justice 
and  integrity,  he  had  always  succeeded  in  defeating 
it.  But  against  the  influence  of  a  chief  of  Tecumthe's 
ability,  tact,  and  daring,  backed  by  the  fanaticism 
which  had  been  created  by  the  prophet's  incantations, 
he  could  not  contend.  Tecumthe  was  as  wary  and 
sagacious  in  council  as  he  was  bold  and  impetuous  in 
•war,  and  in  the  execution  of  his  designs  of  whatever 
character.  He  possessed  a  capacity  for  commander 
of  the  very  highest  order.  He  was,  besides,  familiar 
with  every  cause  of  grievance  of  every  tribe  in  the 
North-west — with  all  their  passions  and  sympathies. 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  79 

This  knowledge  he  used,  with  the  most  consummate 
skill,  to  carry  out  his  ambitious  projects.  Though  his 
brother  was  remarkable  for  little  else  than  his  cun 
ning,  he  proved  a  powerful  auxiliary,  by  enlisting  the 
superstition  of  the  tribes  which  they  wished  to  mould 
to  their  views. .  With  the  view  of  impressing  upon 
them  the  sacred  calling  and  character  of  the  prophet, 
Tecumthe  affected  to  treat  him  as  a  being  of  a  supe 
rior  order.  By  this  cunning  artifice  he  succeeded  in 
inspiring  a  reverence  for  him,  which  gave  him  an  im 
mense  influence. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  Tecumthe,  after  the  union 
between  the  tribes  was  consummated,  was  to  induce 
them  to  abstain  from  using  the  supplies  furnished  by 
the  United  States.  As  a  necessary  consequence  of 
this  refusal,  illicit  trading  followed,  frequently  accom 
panied  with  fraud,  violence,  and  sometimes  murder, 
and  hostile  incursions  soon  followed.  This  state  of 
things  continued  until  war  finally  commenced.  The 
treaty  of  Fort  Wayne,  negotiated  by  Governor  Har 
rison  in  1809,  gave  especial  offense  to  the  distinguished 
chief,  it  being  considered  a  violation  of  the  great 
principle  of  his  confederacy,  which  was  that  the  In 
dian  lands  were  the  common  property  of  all  the  tribes, 
and  could  not  be  sold  without  their  unanimous  consent. 
He  was  absent  when  the  treaty  was  ratified,  and  on  his 
return  not  only  indignantly  refused  to  acknowledge  it, 
but  threatened  to  kill  the  chiefs  who  had  signed  it,  de 
claring  his  determination  to  prevent  the  lands,  ceded  to 
the  United  States  by  it,  from  being  surveyed  or  settled. 


80  THE    LIFE   OP 

On  being  apprised  of  this  determination,  Governor 
Harrison  sent  a  message  to  Tecumthe,  informing  him 
that  any  claims  he  might  have  to  the  lands  which  had 
been  ceded  by  the  treaty  of  Fort  Wayne,  were  not 
affected  by  that  treaty,  and  inviting  him  to  visit  Vin- 
cennes  and  exhibit  his  pretensions,  and  if  they  were 
found  to  be  valid,  the  lands  would  be  relinquished,  or 
an  ample  compensation  made  for  it.  In  accordance 
with  this  invitation  he  went  to  Vincennes,  in  the  month 
of  August  1810,  attended  by  four  hundred  warriors, 
notwithstanding  Harrison  had  restricted  the  number 
to  thirty.  The  interview  took  place  in  front  of  the 
governor's  house,  when  Tecumthe  entered  into  a  long 
and  elaborate  statement  of  his  many  supposed  or  real 
causes  of  grievance,  and  the  grounds  upon  which  he 
refused  to  acknowledge  the  validity  of  the  treaty  of 
Fort  Wayne.  He  alleged  that  the  Great  Spirit  had 
created  this  continent  exclusively  for  the  use  of  the 
Indians, — that  the  white  man  had  no  right  to  come 
here  and  take  it  from  them, — that  no  part  of  it  was 
given  to  any  tribe,  but  that  the  whole  was  the  common 
property  of  all  the  tribes,  and  that,  therefore,  any 
sale  of  lands,  made  without  their  unanimous  consent, 
was  not  binding  upon  any. 

Governor  Harrison's  reply  to  this  artful  address 
was  firm,  and  at  the  same  time  conciliatory  and  mod 
erate.  He  stated  that  the  Indians,  like  the  white 
people,  were  divided  into  different  tribes  or  nations, 
and  that  the  Great  Spirit  never  intended  that  they 
should  form  but  one  nation,  or  ho  would  not  have 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  81 

taught  them  to  speak  different  languages,  and  thus 
precluding  them  from  understanding  each  other.  He 
also  informed  them  that/ 'even  if  the  ground  taken  by 
Tecumthe  was  sound  as  a  general  principle,  the  Shaw- 
anoees,  who  emigrated  from  Georgia,  could  have  no 
claims  to  the  land  on  the  Wabash,  which  had  been  in 
habited  by  the  Miamies  far  beyond  the  memory  of 
man.  At  this  point  of  his  address  the  governor  took 
his  seat,  for  the  purpose  of  having  what  he  had  said 
interpreted  to  the  different  tribes  present.  No  sooner 
had  it  been  translated  into  Shawanoees,  than  Tecum 
the  interrupted  the  interpreter  by  indignantly  declar 
ing  that  the  statement  of  the  governor  was  all  false  I 
At  the  same  time  he  gave  the  signal  to  his  warriors, 
who  immediately  seized  their  weapons  and  sprang  to 
their  feet,  ready  to  do  the  further  bidding  of  their 
chief,  whatever  it  might  be. 

The  occasion  was  one,  it  will  readily  be  perceived, 
of  the  most  imminent  peril,  and  calling  for  the  exer 
cise  of  all  the  governor's  coolness,  courage,  and  pres 
ence  of  mind.  Great  as  the  danger  evidently  was, 
Harrison  proved  equal  to  it,  and  remained  as  calm 
and  self-possessed  as  though  it  was  but  an  ordinary 
occurrence.  Although  he  was  almost  wholly  unat 
tended  in  the  midst  of  four  hundred  fierce  and  des 
perate  savages,  fully  armed  and  ready  for  any  outrage, 
he  at  once  rose  from  his  seat  and  drew  his  sword,  and 
boldly  faced  the  threatened  storm.  A  considerable 
number  of  the  citizens  of  Vincennes  were  present,  en 
tirely  unarmed,  however,  therefore  compelled  to  remain 


82  THE   LIFE   OP 

mere  spectators  of  the  exciting  scene.  But  close  at 
hand  was  a  guard,  composed  of  a  sergeant  and  twelve 
men,  who  were  promptly  ordered  to  take  a  proper  po 
sition  for  sustaining  the  governor  in  whatever  emerg 
ency  might  arise.  But  Tecumthe  thought  it  advisable 
not  to  carry  matters  to  extremities.  The  undaunted 
bearing  and  unruffled  self-possession  of  the  man  they 
had  to  deal  with,  brought  Tecumthe  to  his  senses,  and 
made  his  savage  train  quail  before  his  steady  valor. 

The  treacherous  and  wily  chief  thought  to  have 
taken  the  governor  by  surprise,  and  to  have  forced 
from  him  his  own  terms.  But  he  soon  discovered  his 
error,  and  the  mistaken  estimate  he  had  made  of  Har 
rison's  character.  Though  taken  by  surprise,  and 
entirely  at  the  mercy'of  the  foe,  he  remained  unmoved 
and  firm  in  his  purpose,  equally  incapable  of  violence 
and  fear.  The  moral  influence  of  his  conduct  under 
the  critical  circumstances  with  which  he  was  surround 
ed,  was  at  once  perceptible  upon  the  savages,  and 
especially  upon  Tecumthe.  He  knew  how  to  appre 
ciate  such  true  courage,  and  it  at  once  subdued  him. 
When  Harrison  saw  that  all  immediate  danger  was 
passed,  he  told  Tecumthe  that  he  was  a  bad  man,  and 
that  he  would  have  no  further  intercourse  with  him, 
and  at  once  broke  up  the  council,  directing  him  to 
leave  his  camp  and  return  to  his  home. 

Fearing  that  an  attack  might  be  made  upon  the 
town,  as  the  savages  greatly  outnumbered  its  citizens, 
two  companies  of  militia  were  brought  in  during  the 
night,  and  a  considerable  number  the  following  day. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  83 

But  the  next  morning  Tecumthe  sent  for  the  inter 
preter,  apologized  for  his  bad  faith,  and  requested  that 
another  conference  might  be  granted  him.  The  re 
quest  was  complied  with  by  the  governor,  but  he  took 
good  care  not  again  to  trust  himself  to  the  mercy  of 
the  treacherous  enemy.  He  therefore  took  with  him 
a  number  of  his  friends  well-armed,  and  had  the  troops 
at  his  command  ready  for  action.  Another  conference 
was  accordingly  held  the  same  day,  at  which  Tecum 
the  explained  the  cause  of  his  conduct  at  the  previous 
meeting.  He  alleged  that  it  had  been  pursued  in  ac 
cordance  with  advice  given  him  by  white  persons  in 
terested  in  getting  up  a  war  between  the  Indians  and 
the  United  States,  but  that  it  was  not  his  intention  to 
offer  any  violence  to  Governor  Harrison. 

In  reply  to  his  speech,  the  governor  inquired  if 
he  had  any  other  claim  to  the  lands  ceded  to  the 
United  States  by  the  treaty  of  Fort  Wayne,  than  such 
as  he  had  stated  at  their  interview.  He  answered 
that  he  had  not;  but  stated  during  the  conference, 
that,  if  the  lands  in  question  were  not  relinquished  to 
the  Indians,  it  was  his  determination  to  wage  a  war 
against  the  United  States,  and  that  he  would  never 
bury  the  hatchet,  or  cease  his  efforts,  until  he  had 
united  all  the  tribes  upon  the  continent  into  one  grand 
confederacy,  and  compelled  the  pale  faces  to  acknow 
ledge  their  rights,  and  do  justice  to  the  Indian  race. 
The  council  her%  ended,  and  Tecumthe  withdrew. 

As  soon  as  the  council  of  Vincennes  was  dissolved, 
and  the  ambitious  and  sagacious  chief  discovered 


84  THE   LIFE   OP 

that  lie  had  nothing  to  hope  from  negotiation,  he  set 
abo'ut  the  great  object  of  effecting  his  favorite  object 
of  a  confederacy  amongst  all  the  North-American 
tribes.  It  was  his  policy  to  avoid  hostility  until  this 
object  should  be  accomplished,  or  the  anticipated  war 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  should 
break  out.  The  next  year,  in  pursuance  of  this  plan, 
he  visited  the  southern  Indians,  leaving  his  brother  in 
charge  of  a  party  at  Tippecanoe.  In  reference  to 
these  efforts,  Governor  Harrison  thus  referred  in  his 
message  to  the  Territorial  Legislature  of  Indiana,  at 
its  next  session : 

"  Presenting,  as  we  do,  a  very  extended  frontier 
to  numerous  and  warlike  tribes  of  the  aborigines,  the 
state  of  our  relations  with  them  must  always  form  an 
important  and  interesting  feature  in  our  local  politics. 
It  is  with  regret  that  I  have  to  inform  you,  that  the 
harmony  and  good  understanding,  which  it  is  so  much 
our  interest  to  cultivate  with  these  our  neighbors, 
have,  for  some  time  past,  experienced  a  considerable 
interruption,  and  that  we  have  indeed  been  threatened 
with  hostilities  by  a  combination,  formed  under  the 
auspices  of  a  bold  adventurer,  who  pretends  to  act 
under  the  immediate  inspiration  of  the  Deity.  His 
character  as  a  prophet,  however,  would  not  have  given 
him  any  very  dangerous  influence,  if  he  had  not  been 
assisted  by  the  intrigues  and  advice  of  foreign  agents 
and  other  disaffected  persons,  who  have  for  years 
omitted  no  opportunity  of  counteracting  the  measures 
of  the  government  with  regard  to  the  Indians,  and 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  85 

filling  their  naturally  jealous  minds  with  suspicions  of 
the  justice  and  integrity  of  our  views  towards  them. 

"  The  circumstance  which  was  laid  hold  of  to  en 
courage  disaffection,  on  a  late  occasion,  was  the  treaty 
made  by  me  at  Fort  Wayne,  in  the  autumn  of  the  last 
year.'  Amongst  the  difficulties  which  were  to  be  en 
countered  to  obtain  those  extinguishments  of  title, 
which  have  proved  so  beneficial  to  the  treasury  of  the 
United  States,  and  so  necessary  as  the  means  of  in 
creasing  the  population  of  the  territory,  the  most 
formidable  was  that  of  ascertaining  the  tribes  which 
were  to  be  admitted  as  parties  to  the  treaties.  The 
obje'ct  was  accordingly  discussed  in  a  long  correspond 
ence  between  the  government  and  myself,  and  the 
principles  which  we  finally  adopted  were  made  as  lib 
eral  towards  the  Indians  as  a  due  regard  for  the  in 
terests  of  the  United  States  would  permit.  Of  the 
tribes  which  had  formed  the  confederacy  in  the  war 
which  terminated  by  the  peace  of  Greenville,  some 
were  residents  upon  the  lands  which  were  in  possession 
of  their  forefathers  at  the  time  that  the  first  settlements 
were  made  in  America  by  white  people,  whilst  others 
were .  emigrants  from  different  parts  of  the  country, 
and  had  no  other  claim  to  the  tract  they  occupied, 
than  what  a  few  years'  residence,  by  the  tacit  consent 
of  the  real  owners,  could  give.  Upon  common  and 
general  principles,  the  transfer  of  the  title  of  the 
former  description  would  have  been  sufficient  to  vest 
in  the  purchaser  the  legal  right  to  lands  so  situated. 
But  in  all  its  transactions  with  the  Indians,  our  gov- 
8 


86  THE   LIFE   OP 

ernment  has  not  been  content  with  doing  that  which 
was  just  only.  Its  savage  neighbors  have  on  all  oc 
casions  experienced  its  liberality  and  benevolence. 
Upon  this  principle,  in  several  of  the  treaties  which 
have  been  concluded,  several  tribes  have  been  admitted 
to  a  participation  of  their  benefits,  who  had  no  title  to 
the  land  ceded,  merely  because  they  had  been  accus 
tomed  to  hunt  upon,  and  derive  part  of  their  support 
from  them.  For  this  reason,  and  to  prevent  the  Mi- 
amies,  who  were  the  real  owners  of  the  land,  from  ex 
periencing  any  ill  effects  from  their  resentment,  the 
Delawares,  Potowatamies,  and  Kickapoos,  were  made 
parties  to  the  late  treaty  at  Fort  Wayne.  No  other 
tribe  was  admitted,  because  it  never  had  been  sug 
gested  that  any  other  could  plead  even  the  title  to  use 
or  occupancy  of  the  lands,  which  at  that  time  were 
conveyed  to  the  United  States. 

"  It  was  not  until  eight  months  after  the  conclu 
sion  of  the  treaty,  and  after  his  design  of  forming  a 
combination  against  the  United  States  had  been  dis 
covered  and  defeated,  that  the  pretensions  of  the  pro 
phet,  in  regard  to  the  lands  in  question,  were  made 
known.  A  furious  clamor  was  then  raised  by  the  for 
eign  agents  among  us,  and  other  disaffected  persons, 
against  the  policy  which  had  excluded  from  the  treaty 
this  great  and  influential  character,  as  he  is  termed, 
and  the  doing  so  expressly  attributed  to  the  personal 
ill-will  on  the  part  of  the  negotiator.  No  such  ill-will 
did  in  fact  exist.  I  accuse  myself,  indeed,  of  an  error 
in  the  patronage  and  support  which  I  afforded  him  on 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  87 

his  first  arrival  on  the  Wabash,  before  his  hostility  to 
the  United  States  had  been  developed.  But  on  no 
principle  of  propriety  or  policy  could  he  have  been 
made  a  party  to  the  treaty.  The  personage,  called 
the  prophet,  is  not  a  chief  of  the  tribe  to  which  he 
belongs,  but  an  outcast  from  it,  rejected  and  hated  by 
the  real  chiefs,  the  principal  of  whom  was  present  at 
the  treaty,  and  not  only  disclaimed  on  the  part  of  his 
tribe  any  title  to  the  lands  ceded,  but  used  his  per 
sonal  influence  with  the  chiefs  of  other  tribes  to  effect 
the  cession. 

"As  soon  as  I  was  informed  that  his  dissatisfac 
tion  of  the  treaty  was  assigned  as  the  cause  of  the 
hostile  attitude  which  the  prophet  had  assumed,  I  sent 
to  inform  him,  that  whatever  claims  he  might  have  to 
the  lands  which  had  been  purchased  for  the  United 
States,  were  not  in  the  least  affected  by  the  purchase ; 
that  he  might  come  forward  and  exhibit  his  preten 
sions,  and  if  they  were  really  found  to  be  just  or  equi 
table,  the  lands  would  be  restored,  or  an  ample 
equivalent  given  for  them.  His  brother  was  deputed 
and  sent  to  me  for  that  purpose ;  but  far  from  being 
able  to  show  any  color  of  claim,  either  for  himself, 
or  any  of  his  followers,  his  objections  to  the  treaty 
were  confined  to  the  assertion,  that  all  the  lands 
upon  the  continent  were  the  common  property  of 
all  the  tribes,  and  that  no  sale  of  any  part  of  it 
could  be  valid  without  the  consent  of  all.  A  propo 
sition  so  extremely  absurd,  and  which  would  forever 
prevent  any  further  purchase  of  lands  by  the  United 


88  THE    LIFE   OF 

States,  could  receive  no  countenance  from  any  friend 
of  his  country.  He  had,  however,  the  insolence  to 
declare,  that  by  the  acknowledgment  of  that  prin 
ciple  alone  could  the  effects  of  his  resentment  be 
avoided." 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON. 


CHAPTER   V. 

BUT,  though  Tecumthe  was  only  successful  to  a 
limited  extent  in  his  mission  amongst  the  southern 
Indian  tribes,  he  relaxed  none  of  his  efforts  to  organ 
ize  his  plans  for  prosecuting  a  war  against  the  United 
States,  nor  abated  any  of  his  deep-rooted  enmity 
against  the  white  "intruders."  Early  in  the  year 
1811,  matters  had  assumed  so  serious  an  aspect,  that 
it  was  foreseen  that  the  cloud  of  war,  which  had  dark 
ened  the  western  frontier,  must  shortly  burst,  and  in 
volve  the  country  once  more  in  all  the  horrors  of  this 
most  direful  curse  to  frontier-settlers.  The  hostile 
intentions  and  the  fierce  hatred  of  the  Indians,  which 
had  been  so  long  and  so  industriously  kept  alive  and 
stimulated  by  British  spies  and  agents,  began  to  as 
sume  so  bold  and  threatening  an  aspect,  that  Governor 
Harrison  saw  the  necessity  of  making  prompt  and  ef 
ficient  preparations  for  the  emergency.  He  therefore 
applied  to  President  Monroe  for  authority  to  prepare 
for  the  approaching  contest.  In  accordance  with  this 
request  an  armed  force,  consisting  of  Ohio,  Kentucky, 
and  Indiana  militia,  was  immediately  furnished  him, 
but  with  the  strictest  orders  not  to  resort  to  hostili 
ties  of  any  kind  whatsoever,  and  to  any  degree,  not 
indispensably  necessary. 


90  THE   LIFE   OP 

His  situation  was  now  of  the  most  delicate  and 
embarrassing  character.  Although  furnished  with 
means  of  defense,  it  was  crippled  with  such  rigid  con 
ditions  as  seemed  to  leave  him  but  little  discretion. 
Under  these  trying  circumstances  he  consulted  with 
Governor  Howard,  of  Missouri,  and  Governor  Ed 
wards,  of  Illinois,  who  advised  him  to  break  up  the 
prophet's  town,  where  the  Indians  had  already  begun 
to  assemble  in  large  force.  These  outrages  had  be 
come  so  frequent,  in  consequence  of  the  impunity  with 
which  they  had  been  suffered  to  carry  on  their  depre 
dations,  that  any  longer  forbearance  would  have  been 
felt  to  be  criminal  indifference  to  the  safety  of  the 
settlers.  Surmounting  every  difficulty,  he  prepared 
to  strike  a  blow  that,  if  successful,  would  effectually 
crush  the  savage  confederation,  and  put  an  end  to  all 
further  apprehensions  from  them.  When  it  had  be 
come  known  that  an  attack  upon  the  prophet's  town 
was  resolved  upon,  a  large  number  of  gentlemen  from 
Kentucky  volunteered  their  services  to  Governor  Har 
rison,  amongst  whom  where  the  gallant  Joseph  H. 
Daviess,  an  eminent  lawyer  of  great  military  ambition ; 
Major-General  Samuel  Wells,  who  had  already  distin 
guished  himself  in  Indian  wars;  Colonel  Owen,  also 
a  distinguished  officer  in  those  wars ;  Colonel  Keiger, 
and  Messrs.  Croghan,  O'Fallan,  and  others,  who  after 
wards  distinguished  themselves  in  the  war  with  Great 
Britain,  as  well  as  at  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe.  The 
governor's  army  was  thus  increased  to  about  nine 
hundred  effective  men,  consisting  of  regular  troops 
and  volunteer  militia. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  91 

Having  completed  all  his  arrangements,  lie  com 
menced  his  march  up  the  Wabash,  with  the  best  dis 
ciplined  force  that  had  ever  been  brought  into  the 
field  against  the  Indians,  towards  the  last  of  Septem-. 
ber  1811.  Acting  under  the  express  orders  of  the 
President,  to  present  a  last  opportunity  to  the  Indians 
for  a  reconciliation,  before  actually  commencing  hos 
tilities,  Governor  Harrison  came  to  a  halt  at  Fort 
Harrison,  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  for 
the  purpose  of  attempting  to  induce  the  prophet  to 
deliver  up  the  murderers,  who  had  taken  refuge 
amongst  his  men,  and  to  deliver  up  the  many  horses 
that  had  been  stolen  from  the  white  settlements.  But 
his  messengers  were  treated  with  contempt ;  and  ev 
ery  proposition  made  to  him  was  rejected;  and  to  put 
an  end  to  all  hopes  of  accommodation,  an  attack  was 
made  upon  the  Americans,  their  sentinels  fired  upon, 
and  one  of  them  severely  wounded.  Finding  it  but 
lost  time,  therefore,  to  hold  any  further  intercourse 
with  the  prophet,  he  determined  to  march  upon  the 
prophet's  town  as  soon  as  his  army,  which  had  suffered 
severely  from  the  use  of  fresh  food,  was  in  a  condition 
for  active  service.  On  the  28th  of  October,  Governor 
Harrison  left  Fort  Harrison  for  the  head-quarters  of 
the  prophet  and  his  army. 

Well  skilled  in  the  peculiar  mode  of  Indian  war 
fare,  and-  profiting  by  his  own  early  experience  and 
the  example  of  General  Wayne,  his  march  through 
the  wild  region  to  Tippecanoe  was  conducted  with  so 
much  skill  and  caution,  that  he  avoided  all  danger  of 


£2  THE   LIFE   OF 

an  ambuscade  or  surprise  from  the  enemy,  and  on  the 
6th  of  November  arrived  within  six  miles  of  the  pro 
phet's  town  in  perfect  safety.  In  accordance  with 
the  instructions  of  the  President,  Governor  Harrison 
immediately  sent  a  flag  of  truce  to  the  prophet,  to  en 
deavor  once  more  to  open  an  ample  negotiation  with 
the  hostile  Indians.  A  pacific,  but  deceitful,  reply  was 
returned  to  this  overture,  professing  the  most  friendly 
intentions,  and  agreeing  to  meet  the  governor  the  next 
day  in  council  with  his  chiefs,  with  the  view  to  settle 
definitely  the  terms  of  peace.  Harrison  knew  too  well 
the  treacherous  character  of  his  artful  antagonist,  to 
allow  himself  to  be  deceived  by  his  friendly  professions, 
or  lulled  into  any  fancied  security.  He  carefully  se 
lected  the  most  eligible  and  defensible  position  for  his 
encampment,  and  posted  his  troops  in  a  hollow  square, 
with  his  cavalry  drawn  up  in  rear  of  the  front  line. 
His  men  were  ordered  to  lie  on  their  arms  all  night, 
that  they  might  be  in  readiness  at  a  moment's  warn 
ing  for  any  sudden  attack  that  might  be  made  during 
the  night.  He  also  surrounded  his  entire  camp  with 
a  chain  of  sentinels,  placed  at  such  a  distance  as  to 
give  timely  notice  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  and 
the  officers  were  required  to  sleep  with  their  clothes 
on,  and  their  arms  by  their  sides.  The  governor  him 
self,  too,  was  ready  to  mount  his  horse  at  any  moment. 
All  these  careful  preparations  to  guard  against  a  sur 
prise  were  necessary,  not  only  from  their  well-known 
treacherous  character,  but  from  certain  intimations 
Governor  Harrison  thought  he  discovered  in  the  sin- 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  93 

ister  conduct  and  proceedings  of  the  prophet.  He 
felt  confident  from  these  indications  that  an  attack 
would  be  made  upon  his  encampment  before  morning. 

The  order  was  given  the  army,  in  case  of  a  night 
attack,  for  each  corps  to  maintain  its  ground  at  all 
hazards  until  relieved.  The  dragoons  were  directed, 
in  such  a  case,  to  parade  dismounted  with  tLeir 
swords  on  and  their  pistols  in  their  belts,  and  thus  to 
wait  for  orders.  The  guard  for  the  night  consisted 
of  two  companies  of  forty-two  men  and  four  non 
commissioned  officers,  each  under  the  command  of  a 
field  officer. 

The  two  columns  of  infantry  occupied  the  front 
and  rear  of  the  position  he  had  chosen,  at  the  dis 
tance  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from 
each  other  on  the  left,  and  something  more  than  half 
that  distance  on  the  right  flank.  These  flanks  were 
filled  up,  the  first  by  two  companies  of  mounted  rifle 
men,  amounting  to  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  men, 
under  the  command  of  Major-General  Wells,  of  the 
Kentucky  militia,  who  served  as  a  major ;  the  other 
by  Spencer's  company  of  mounted  riflemen,  which 
amounted  to  eighty  men.  The  front  line  was  com 
posed  of  one  battalion  of  United  States  infantry,  un 
der  the  command  of  Major  Floyd,  flanked  on  the 
right  by  two  companies  of  militia,  and  on  the  left  by 
one  company.  The  rear  line  was  composed  of  one 
battalion  of  United  States  troops,  under  the  com 
mand  of  Captain  Baen,  acting  as  major,  and  four 
companies  of  militia  infantry,  under  Lieutenant- Col- 


94  THE   LIFE   OP 

onel  Decker.  The  regular  troops  of  the  line  joined 
the  mounted  riflemen,  under  General  Wells,  on  the 
left  flank,  and  Colonel  Decker's  battalion  formed 
with  Spencer's  company  on  the  left. 

Two  troops  of  dragoons,  amounting  in  the  aggre 
gate  to  sixty  men,  were  encamped  in  the  rear  of  the 
left  flank,  and  Captain  Parker's  troop,  which  was 
larger  than  the  other  two,  in  the  rear  of  the  front 
line.  The  order  of  encampment  varied  but  little 
from  the  above  described,  except  when  some  pecu 
liarity  of  the  ground  made  it  necessary.  For  a  night 
attack  the  order  of  encampment  was  the  order  of 
battle,  and  each  man  slept  immediately  opposite  his 
post  in  the  line.  In  the  formation  of  his  troops, 
Governor  Harrison  used  a  single  rank,  or  what  is 
called  Indian  file,  because  in  Indian  warfare,  where 
there  is  no  shock  to  resist,  experience  has  shown  that 
one  rank  is  nearly  as  efficient  as  two,  and  in  that 
kind  of  warfare  the  extension  of  line  is  of  the  utmost 
importance.  Raw  troops  also  manoeuvre  with  much 
more  facility  in  single  than  in  double  ranks.  In  the 
evening  he  assembled  all  his  field  officers,  and  gave 
them  the  watchword  and  their  instructions  for  the 
night. 

On  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  November,  Gov 
ernor  Harrison  had  risen  at  a  quarter  before  four 
o'clock,  with  the  intention  of  ordering  out  the  men, 
and  the  signal  for  that  purpose  was  on  the  point  of 
being  given.  The  orderly  drummer  had  already  been 
roused  for  the  reveille.  The  morning  was  dark,  in 


WILLIAM    HENHY    HARRISON.  95 

consequence  of  the  moon  being  overshadowed  with 
clouds.  After  four  o'clock,  General  Wells,  Colonel 
Owen,  and  Colonel  Daviess  had  all  risen  and  joined 
the  governor,  when  the  treacherous  foe,  notwithstand 
ing  their  appointment  to  meet  them  in  council  the 
next  morning,  for  the  purpose  of  listening  to  terms  of 
peace,  had  crept  up  so  near  the  American  lines  as 
to  hear  the  sentries  challenged  when  relieved.  It 
was  their  intention  to  rush  upon  them  and  kill  them 
before  they  could  fire.  But  one  of  the  sentries  dis 
covered  an  Indian  creeping  towards  him  in  the  grass, 
and  fired  upon  him.  This  was  immediately  followed 
by  the  Indian  warwhoop,  and  a  desperate  attack 
upon  the  left  of  the  American  line.*  But  a  single 
gun  was  fired  by  either  the  sentinel  or  guard  in  the 
direction  of  the  attack.  They  made  not  the  least  re 
sistance,  but  abandoned  their  officers  and  fled  into 
the  camp  in  the  wildest  confusion,  and  the  first  inti 
mation  the  troops  of  that  flank  had  of  the  attack 
was  from  the  yells  of  the  savages  within  a  short  dis 
tance  of  the  line.  But  though  thus  taken  by  sur 
prise,  through  the  bad  conduct  of  the  sentinels  and 
guard,  they  promptly  rallied  and  behaved  with  the 
most  distinguished  gallantry.  Many  of  them  were 
not  yet  awake,  but  upon  the  first  alarm  they  seized 
their  arms  and  took  their  stations.  Those  who  were 
more  tardy  met  and  contended  with  the  enemy  in  the 
doors  of  their  tents.  The  storm  first  fell  upon  Cap 
tain  Barton's  company  of  the  fourth  United  States 
*  McAfee's  History  of  the  Late  War. 


96  THE   LIFE    OP 

regiment,  and  Captain  Geiger's  company  of  mounted 
riflemen,  which  formed  the  left  angle  of  the  rear  line. 
The  fire  upon  these  companies  was  most  galling  and 
destructive,  and  they  suffered  severely  before  relief 
could  be  brought  to  them.  Some  few  Indians  passed 
into  the  encampment  near  the  angle,  and  one  or  two 
even  penetrated  some  distance  before  they  were  killed. 

All  the  other  companies  were  under  arms  and 
formed  in  line  before  the  attack  was  commenced  upon 
them.  The  camp  fires,  which  afforded  a  partial  light 
in  the  darkness  of  the  morning,  for  the  Indians  to 
take  a  sure  aim,  and  which  was  therefore  more  ad 
vantageous  to  them  than  to  the  American  army,  were 
at  once  extinguished.  Under  all  these  discouraging 
circumstances,  so  well  calculated  to  produce  a  panic 
even  amongst  veteran  soldiers,  the  governor's  troops, 
although  nineteen-twentieths  of  them  had  never  be 
fore  been  in  an  action,  exhibited  the  utmost  coolness 
and  bravery,  and  fought  with  a  gallantry  that  enti 
tled  them  to  the  highest  honor.  They  took  their 
places,  too,  with  less  noise  and  confusion  than  might 
have  been  expected  from  veteran  troops  in  similar 
circumstances. 

As  soon  as  Governor  Harrison  could  mount  his 
horse,  he  rode  to  the  angle  where  the  attack  com 
menced,  and  found  that  Captain  Barton's  company 
had  suffered  severely,  and  that  Captain  Geiger's  was 
entirely  broken.  He  immediately  ordered  Captain 
Cook's  company,  and  the  late  Captain  Wentworth's,  un 
der  Lieutenant  Peters,  to  be  brought  up  from  the  cen- 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  97 

tre  of  the  rear  line,  where  the  ground  was  much  more 
defensible,  and  formed  across  the  angle  in  support  of 
Barton's  and  Geiger's  companies.  He  then  discov 
ered  that  a  heavy  fire  was  kept  up  on  the  left  of  the 
front  line,  where  a  small  company  of  United  States 
riflemen,  armed  however  with  muskets,  were  sta 
tioned,  and  also  the  companies  of  Captains  Baen,  Snel- 
ling,  and  Prescott,  of  the  fourth  regiment.  Colonel 
Daviess  immediately  formed  the  dragoons  in  the  rear 
of  these  companies.  Understanding  that  the  heav 
iest  part  of  the  fire  proceeded  from  a  small  thicket, 
fifteen  or  twenty  rods  in  front  of  them,  Harrison 
directed  him  to  dislodge  them  with  a  part  of  his 
dragoons.  Unfortunately  the  order  was  not  distinctly 
heard  by  his  men,  and  but  few  of  them  accompanied 
him  in  the  charge,  amongst  whom  were  Messrs.  Mead 
and  Sanders,  who  afterwards  rendered  signal  service 
in  the  army  of  the  United  States.  This  enabled  the 
enemy  to  avoid  him  in  front  and  attack  his  flanks. 
The  charge,  therefore,  though  executed  with  great 
gallantry,  was  entirely  unsuccessful,  and  the  brave 
Colonel  Daviess,  as  chivalrous  an  officer  as  ever  drew 
a  sword  in  his  country's  defence,  fell  mortally  wounded. 
The  Indians,  however,  were  immediately  dislodged 
from  their  advantageous  position  by  Captain  Snel- 
ling,  at  the  head  of  his  company. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  minutes  after  the  com 
mencement  of  the  attack,  the  fire  extended  along  the 
left  flank,  the  whole  of  the  front,  the  right  flank,  and 
part  of  the  rear  line.     Upon  Spencer's  mounted  rifle- 
9 


98  THE   LIFE   OF 

men,  and  the  right  of  Captain  Warwick's,  the  latter 
of  which  was  posted  on  the  right  of  the  rear  line,  the 
fire  was  excessively  severe.  Captain  Spencer  and  his 
first  and  second  lieutenant  were  killed,  and  Captain 
Warwick  was  mortally  wounded.  Their  companies, 
however,  still  bravely  maintained  their  posts,  but 
Captain  Spencer's  Company  had  suffered  so  severely, 
and  having  originally  too  much  ground  to  occupy, 
was  reinforced  with  Captain  Roble's  company  of  ri 
flemen.  This  company  had  been  driven  from  their 
position,  or  ordered  from  it  by  mistake.  They  fought 
bravely,  however,  during  the  whole  action,  and  espe 
cially  after  they  had  been  ordered  to  the  support  of 
Spencer's  company,  having  seventeen  men  killed  in 
the  battle. 

The  great  object  of  Governor  Harrison  was  to 
keep  the  lines  entire  and  unbroken,  in  order  to  pre 
vent  the  enemy  from  penetrating  into  the  camp  until 
daylight,  when  a  general  and  more  effectual  charge 
could  be  made.  With  this  view  he  had  reinforced 
every  part  of  the  line  as  fast  as  it  had  become  weak 
ened,  and  as  soon  as  the  approach  of  morning  was 
discovered,  Captain  Snelling's  company,  Captain  Po- 
sey's,  under  Lieutenant  Albright's,  and  Captain 
Scott's,  were  withdrawn  from  the  front  line,  and  Cap 
tain' Wilson's  from  the  rear  line,  and  drawn  up  upon 
the  left  flank ;  and  at  the  same  time  Captain  Cook's 
and  Captain  Baen's  companies,  the  former  from  the 
rear,  and  the  latter  from  the  front  line,  were  ordered 
to  reinforce  the  right  flank,  the  governor  foreseeing 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  99 

that  all  the  enemy  would  make  their  last  efforts. 
General  Wells,  who  commanded  on  the  left  flank,  not 
knowing  the  intentions  of  the  governor  precisely,  had 
taken  command  of  these  companies,  and  with  the  aid 
of  some  mounted  dragoons,  commanded  by  Captain 
Park,  and  charged  the  enemy  before  the  governor  had 
completed  his  arrangements  for  the  attack.  But  the 
charge  was  entirely  successful,  however,  and  the  In 
dians  were  driven  by  him  and  the  infantry,  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet,  and  forced  by  the  dragoons  into 
a  marsh,  where  they  could  not  be  followed. 

Captain  Cook  and  Lieutenant  Larebee  had,  in  the 
meantime,  agreeably  to  the  governor's  orders,  marched 
their  companies  to  the  right  flank,  and  formed  them 
under  the  fire  of  the  enemy.  Being  then  joined  by 
the  riflemen  of  that  flank,  they  had  charged  the  In 
dians,  killed  a  number,  and  put  the  rest  to  a  precipi 
tate  flight.  The  decisive  success  of  this  charge,  and 
the  overwhelming  defeat  of  the  enemy  at  this  point, 
terminated  the  battle,  and  gave  the  victory  to  the 
American  arms. 

The  whole  of  the  infantry  was  under  the  command 
of  Colonel  Boyd,  who  acted  as  Brigadier-General, 
during  the  engagement,  and  formed  a  small  brigade. 
Throughout  the  action  he  manifested  equal  zeal  and 
bravery  in  carrying  into  execution  the  orders  of  Gov 
ernor  Harrison,  in  keeping  the  men  at  their  posts  and 
stimulating  their  courage  and  exertions.  His  brigade, 
Major  Clark,  and  his  aid-de-camp,  Croghan,  also  ren 
dered  valuable  service  by  their  coolness  and  courage 


100  THE   LIFE   OP 

during  the  battle.  The  conduct  of  Colonel  Joseph  Bar 
tholomew,  a  brave  officer,  who  commanded  the  militia 
infantry,  under  General  Boyd — ,Major  G.  R.  C.  Floyd, 
the  senior  of  the  fourth  United  States  regiment  who 
commanded  the  battalion  of  that  regiment, — Colonel 
Decker,  who  commanded  on  the  right  of  the  rear  line, 
and  Major-General  Wells  of  the  fourth  division  of 
Kentucky  militia, — all  likewise  received  the  highest 
praise  from  the  commander-in-chief  for  their  gallant 
conduct  and  good  services.  Indeed,  every  officer  of 
the  army,  as  well  as  the  rank  and  file,  discharged 
their  whole  duty  like  brave  men  and  true  soldiers. 
Several  of  the  militia  companies  acted  with  the  steady 
courage  and  firmness  of  veteran  troops. 

Amongst  the  killed,  the  brave  and  accomplished 
Colonel  Joseph  H.  Daviess,  of  Kentucky,  has  already 
been  mentioned,  as  have  also  Captains  Spencer  and 
Warwick,  and  Lieutenants  McMahon  and  Berry,  all 
accomplished  and  excellent  officers.  In  addition  to 
these,  Colonel  Abraham  Owen,  commandant  of  the 
eighteenth  Kentucky  regiment,  who  joined  the  army 
as  a  volunteer  a  few  days  before  the  action,  and  who 
acted  as  an  aid  to  Governor  Harrison  during  the  bat 
tle,  also  fell  early  in  the  action.  He  was  a  noble- 
minded  and  brave  man,  and  a  much-esteemed  citizen. 
Captain  Baen,  of  the  fourth  United  States  regiment, 
another  gallant  officer  and  brave  soldier,  was  killed, 
too,  early  in  the  action.  In  the  death  of  these  brave 
officers,  the  United  States  suffered  a  great  loss,  as 
they  possessed  the  characteristics  of  true  soldiers. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  101 

and  displayed  the  most  chivalrous  devotion,  even  after 
they  had  been  mortally  wounded.  Even  after  Cap 
tain  Spencer  had  been  shot  through  the  head,  he  ex 
horted  his  men  to  fight  on.  Being  next  shot  through 
both  thighs,  he  still  continued  to  encourage  his  men, 
and  even  requested  to  be  taken  back  after  he  had 
been  carried  off  the  field,  and  when  it  was  evident  he 
had  but  a  short  time  to  live.  Other  similar  acts  of 
self-sacrificing  devotion  might  be  recorded. 

The  whole  loss  of  the  Americans,  in  killed,  was 
sixty-two,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  wounded. 
The  Indians  left  thirty-eight,  and  their  whole  loss,  in 
killed,  was  supposed  to  have  been  between  fifty  and 
sixty ;  but  from  their  practice  of  carrying  their  dead 
off  the  field  when  in  their  power,  their  loss  was  un 
known.  The  number  of  Indians  engaged  in  the  ac 
tion  were  estimated  at  six  hundred.  Three  weeks 
before  the  battle,  the  prophet  was  known  to  have  had 
four  hundred  and  fifty  followers ;  and  his  force  was 
daily  augmented  by  the  arrival  of  lawless  adven 
turers.  Not  an  American  was  taken  prisoner  during 
the  action. 

This  was  probably  one  of  the  most  desperate  bat 
tles  ever  fought  with  the  Indians,  and  but  for  the 
caution  and  efficiency  of  Governor  Harrison,  might 
have  terminated  as  fatally  to  the  American  army  as 
the  night  attack  upon  General  St.  Clair,  just  twenty 
years  before.  Resolutions  were  passed  by  the  legis 
latures  of  Kentucky  and  Indiana,  highly  complimen 
tary  to  Governor  Harrison  and  the  officers  and  men 
9* 


102  THE    LIFE   OP 

under  his  command.  It  established  the  reputation  of 
the  commander-in-chief  on  the  most  solid  and  perma 
nent  basis,  and  created  a  feeling  of  confidence  and 
security  amongst  the  frontier  settlers  that  had  never 
before  been  experienced.* 

An  incident  occurred  the  evening  before  this  ac 
tion  admirably  illustrative  of  his  character  for  mag 
nanimity.  A  negro,  named  Ben,  who  was  attached 
to  his  camp,  deserted  to  the  Indians,  and  entered  into 
a  conspiracy  to  assassinate  his  old  general  as  soon  as 
the  attack  upon  him  should  commence.  Being  ap 
prehended  while  lurking  about  Governor  Harrison's 
marquee,  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  execute  his 
bloody  purpose,  he  was  tried  by  a  court-martial  and 
sentenced  to  be  shot.  The  execution  of  the  sentence 
was  delayed  for  a  short  time,  in  consequence  of  the 
troops  being  engaged  in  fortifying  the  camp.  In  the 
meantime,  the  negro  was  put  into  Indian  stocks,  that 
is,  a  log  split  open,  notches  cut  in  it  to  fit  the  cul 
prit's  legs,  and  when  placed  in  it,  firmly  staked  to  the 
ground.  Governor  Harrison  interposed  his  authority 
and  pardoned  the  guilty  wretch,  assigning  as  a  reason 
for  the  undeserved  act  of  clemency  the  following : — 
"  The  fact  was,"  said  he,  to  a  friend  afterwards,  "  that 
I  began  to  pity  him,  and  could  not  screw  myself  up 
to  the  point  of  giving  the  fatal  order.  If  he  had 
been  out  of  my  sight  he  would  have  been  executed. 
The  poor  wretch  lay  confined  before  my  fire,  his  face 
receiving  the  rain  that  occasionally  fell,  and  his  eyes 
*  Brackenridge's  History  of  the  Late  War. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  103 

constantly  turned  upon  me  as  if  imploring  mercy.  I 
could  not  withstand  the  appeal,  and  determined  to 
give  him  another  chance  for  his  life. 

Though  the  conduct  of  Governor  Harrison,  both 
preceding  and  during  this  action,  has  been  as  severely 
criticised  as  any  battle  ever  fought  between  the  Amer 
icans,  whether  Indians,  English,  or  Mexicans,  yet  it 
has  received  the  universal  approval  of  military  men, 
and  of  every  man  competent  to  form  a  correct  judg 
ment,  who  has  given  the  subject  any  investigation. 
Amongst  others  who  have  paid  the  highest  commenda 
tion  to  his  prudence,  judgment,  and  military  genius, 
were  most,  if  not  all,  the  gallant  officers  who  served 
under  him  on' that  occasion,  especially  the  brave  and 
gallant  O'Fallan,  Wells,  General  Scott,  Major  Larri- 
bee,  and  Captain  Snelling.  A  defence  of  his  conduct, 
therefore,  would  now  be  as  out  of  place  as  it  would  be 
unnecessary.  The  charges  were  originally  made  by 
his  personal  enemies,  and  renewed  with  equal  bitter 
ness  by  his  political  opponents,  when  a  candidate  for 
a  high  office  many  years  after,  not  to  be  permanently 
believed,  but  to  effect  a  temporary  disaffection.  The 
battle  has  been  fought  over  again  many  times,  and, 
after  years  of  altercation,  public  opinion  has  per 
manently  settled  the  question  in  favor  of  the  military 
skill,  prudence,  and  caution,  displayed  by  Governor 
Harrison.  All  the  accusations  of  his  personal  enemies 
have  been  disproved,  and  those  of  his  political  oppo 
nents  abandoned. 

In  regard  to  the  personal  bearing  and  gallant  con- 


104  THE   LIFE   OP 

duct  of  the  commander-in-chief  during  the  engage 
ment,  cotemporaneous  testimony  is  equally  clear,  and 
public  opinion  equally  decided.  Mutual  confidence 
existed  between  him  and  his  officers  and  soldiers  to  an 
extent  rarely  equaled.  Wherever  his  presence  was 
required,  there  he  was  found  urging  on  his  troops  by 
cheering  words  and  his  personal  example.*  He  shared 
every  danger  and  fatigue  to  which  his  army  was  ex 
posed.  In  the  battle  he  was  in  more  peril  than  any 
other  officer,  as  he  was  personally  known  to  every  In 
dian,  and  exposed  himself  fearlessly  on  horseback  at 
all  points  of  attack  during  the  whole  engagement. 
Every  important  movement  was  made  by  his  express 
order.f  His  self-possession,  toor  was  as  remarkable 
as  his  courage  and  personal  exertions  throughout  the 
battle.  Though  shrouded  in  almost  impenetrable  dark 
ness  almost  the  whole  time  the  action  lasted,  he  seemed 
to  understand,  as  if  by  intuition,  where  his  presence 
was  most  needed,  and  there  he  was  sure  to  be  found. 

*  Dawson's  Life  of  Harrison. 
f  Hall's  Memoirs  of  Harrison. 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  105 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE  battle  of  Tippecanoe  was  but  the  precursor 
of  more  important  events,  and  only  preceded  the  war 
with  Great  Britain,  which  it  had  been  long  foreseen 
must  soon  burst  upon  the  country, — as  the  shadow 
precedes  the  substance.  If  anything  were  required 
to  inflame  the  country  to  a  still  higher  pitch  of  exas 
peration  than  had  been  produced  by  the  well-known 
efforts  of  British  agents  to  incense  the  Indians  against 
the  United  States,  and  their  positive  encouragement 
to  repeated  outrages,  and  the  insolent  aggressions  of 
the  British  government  on  our  commerce,  it  was  found 
in  this  battle.  It  was,  indeed,  the  beginning  of  the 
war.  There  was  little  doubt  that  the  Indians  had  pre 
viously  received  assurances  of  aid  from  Great  Britain 
in  case  of  hostilities,  and  they  immediately  began  to 
threaten  all  the  American  border-population  in  the 
Michigan,  Indiana,  and  Illinois  Territories,  as  well  as 
the  north-western  confines  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Ohio.*  The  whole  of  the  western  frontier  was 
thrown  into  a  state  of  alarm,  and  many  of  the  inhab 
itants  removed  to  the  older  settlements  for  safety. 
*  Monette's  Valley  of  the  Mississippi. 


106  THE   LIFE   OP 

Besides  the  efforts  of  Great  Britain  to  stir  up  a 
war  amongst  the  Indians  against  us,  and  her  impress 
ment  of  American  seamen,  an  affair  between  an  Amer 
ican  and  English  vessel  of  war,  on  the  16th  of  May, 
1811,  served  greatly  to  complicate  matters  between 
the  two  governments.  This  was  an  attack  upon  the 
United  States  frigate  President,  Commodore  Rogers, 
by  the  British  ship-of-war  Little  Belt,  commanded  by 
Captain  Brigham,  under  the  following  circumstances  : 
When  off  Cape  Henry,  the  President  fell  in  with  the 
Little  Belt,  and  having  come  within  speaking  distance 
after  a  long  chase,  hailed  her,  and  was  hailed  in  turn 
as  the  only  answer  to  Commodore  Rogers.  Believing 
himself  entitled  to  the  first  answer,  as  he  hailed  first, 
he  hailed  a  second  time  after  a  few  seconds  pause,  and 
before  he  took  the  trumpet  from  his  mouth,  the  Little 
Belt  fired  upon  him,  cutting  off  one  of  the  main-top 
back-stays,  and  the  ball  entering  the  main-mast  of  the 
President,  and  immediately  after  another,  and  then 
three  more  in  quick  succession.  Hereupon,  being  de 
termined  neither  to  be  the  aggressor,  nor  suffer  the 
American  flag  to  be  insulted  without  impunity, -he 
gave  a  general  order  to  fire.  In  the  course  of  ten 
minutes  the  Little  Belt  was  entirely  disabled  and  si 
lenced,  when  Commodore  Rogers  ceased  firing.  From 
twenty  to  thirty  of  her  men  were  killed  or  wounded. 
A  court-martial,  called  to  examine  the  conduct  of 
Commodore  Rogers,  fully  acquitted  him  of  going  be 
yond  his  most  imperative  duty  to  his  country.  But 
the  affair  was  made  a  pretext,  on  the  j>art  of  the  Brit- 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON,  10 

ish  government,  for  still  further  outrages  and  inso 
lence,  and  great  efforts  were  made  to  prove  that  the 
President  was  the  aggressor,  but  without  success. 

The  United  States  government  was  unwilling  to 
resort  to  war,  as  1 .  r.g  as  there  was  any  hope  of  an 
honorable  adjustment,  and  therefore  exhibited  great 
forbearance.  But  this  very  proper  apprehension  of 
venturing  upon  the  experiment  of  resorting  to  arms, 
and  involving  the  country  in  a  long  and  bloody  war, 
was  looked  upon  by  Great  Britain  as  proceeding  from 
pusillanimity  rather  than  a  humane  desire  to  avoid 
bloodshed,  and  subjected  us  to  new  insults.  This  state 
of  things  could  not  and  was  not  long  to  continue.  The 
public  mind  was  gradually  becoming  not  only  prepared, 
but  anxious  for  the  contest.  Dreadful  as  the  alternative 
of  war  was,  and  anxious  as  the  American  government 
and  people  were  to  avoid  it,  they  nevertheless  felt 
that  there  were  other  things  worse  even  than  that, — 
that  a  peace  purchased  at  the  price  of  dishonor  was 
far  more  to  be  deprecated.  The  first  session  of  the 
Twelfth  Congress  assembled  under  the  influence  of 
this  state  of  the  popular  feeling,  and  was  protracted 
to  an  unusual  length  by  the  exciting  and  momentous 
question  of  peace  or  war. 

On  the  5th  of  June,  1812,  President  Madison  laid 
before  Congress  the  correspondence  between  the 
American  Secretary  of  State  and  the  British  Minister 
near  this  government,  which  seemed  to  preclude  all 
probability  of  a  satisfactory  adjustment.*  At  length, 
*  Breckenridge's  Late  War. 


108  .       THE    LIFE    OP 

on  the  18th  of  June,  1812,  after  having  sat  with  closed 
doors  for  seven  days  a  declaration  of  war  was  de 
clared  against  Great  Britain.  This  act,  terrible  as  it 
was,  received  the  approbation  of  the  people,  or  a 
large  majority  of  them.* 

After  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  Governor  Har 
rison  proceeded,  with  his  usual  energy  and  regard  for 
the  public  interests,  to  put  the  frontier  in  a  state  of 
defense,  as  well  against  the  Indian  incursions,  as  to  be 
prepared  for  the  approaching  war  with  England.  He 
held  interviews  with  the  governors  of  several  of  the 
western  States,  at  which  plans  of  defense  were  ar 
ranged,  measures  taken  for  enrolling  and  equipping 
troops  and  preparing  munitions  of  war.  From  the 
large  military  experience  of  Governor  Harrison,  as 
well  as  from  his  well-known  abilities  and  patriotism, 
the  most  unlimited  confidence  was  felt  in  his  opinions 
and  judgment,  and  his  advice  in  all  matters  relating 
to  the  defenses  of  the  country  was  never  unheeded 
by  the  people  of  the  West. 

When  he  had  aided  Governor  Edwards,  of  Illi- 
aois,  in  putting  the  exposed  portions  of  that  State  in  a 
posture  of  defense,  he  was  invited  by  the  distin 
guished  General  Charles  Scott,  of  Kentucky,  then 
governor  of  the  State,  to  hold  a  conference  with  him 
in  relation  to  the  disposition  of  the  Kentucky  troops 
who  were  destined  to  protect  the  western  frontier. 
He  at  once  proceeded  to  Frankfort,  where  he  was  re 
ceived  with  public  honors,  the  governor  appearing  in 
*  See  Appendix  (B). 


WILLIAM    HENRY   -HARBISON.  109 

person  at  the  head  of  the  troops,  amidst  the  firing  of 
cannon  and  the  acclamations  of  the  people.* 

The  highest  civil  and  military  honors  were  paid 
him  as  a  mark  of  respect  for  his  distinguished  public 
services  and  private  virtues,  and  marks  of  the  ardent 
attachment  and  unbounded  confidence  of  the  people 
whom  he  had  so  triumphantly  defended  from  their 
savage  enemy. 

After  having  remained  at  Frankfort  some  days,  he 
was  actively  engaged  in  maturing  plans  for  the  protec 
tion  of  the  lives  and  property  of  the  people  of  the  West, 
and  giving  to  that  object  all  the  energies  of  his  ac 
tive  mind.  During  this  visit  to  Kentucky,  an  incident 
occurred  which  may  not  be  without  sufficient  interest 
to  deserve  recording : — One  day  Governor  Harrison 
dined  in  Lexington,  in  company  with  a  large  party  of 
gentlemen  of  that  town  and  its  vicinity,  all  of  them 
ardent  friends  of  the  war.  The  conversation  turning 
upon  the  north-western  campaign,  and  the  governor 
delivering  his  sentiments  similar  to  those  in  a  letter  af 
terwards  written,  the  company  were  so  struck  with  the 
wisdom  and  justice  of  his  remarks  that  he  was  urged  to 
communicate  them  to  the  Secretary  of  War.  To  this 
he  objected  on  the  ground  that  it  might  be  interfering 
with  matters  which  were  foreign  to  his  own  duty,  and 
might  not  therefore  be  considered  entirely  free  from 
presumption.  But  being  assured  by  Mr.  Clay,  who 
was  one  of  the  party,  and  who  was  always  alive  to 
the  true  interests  and  honor  of  his  country,  thst  it 
*  Hall's  Life  pf  Harrison. 

10 


110  THE   LIFE   OF 

would  be  well  received  by  the  government,  the  letter 
was  written. 

In  this  letter,  besides  suggesting  a  system  of  op 
erations,  in  which  he  displayed  his  intimate  acquaint 
ance  with  the  military  art  as  with  the  actual  con 
dition  of  affairs  throughout  the  whole  western  coun 
try,  he  evinced  the  sagacity  of  a  strong  and  pene 
trating  mind  by  predicting  events,  which,  unhappily 
for  the  country,  had  not  been  anticipated  by  the  gov 
ernment.*  He  expressed  his  fear  that  the  capture 
of  Macinac  would  give  the  British  and  Indians  arms, 
that  the  northern  tribes  would  pour  down  in  swarms 
upon  Detroit,  oblige  General  Hall  to  act  entirely  on 
the  defensive,  and  meet,  and  perhaps  overpower,  the 
convoys  and  reinforcements  that  might  be  sent  to  him. 
He  considered  it  highly  probable  that  the  large  de 
tachment  which  was  destined  for  his  relief,  under 
Colonel  Wells,  would  have  to  fight  its  way ;  but  he 
expressed  his  confidence  in  their  valor,  though  he  was 
apprehensive  that  the  event  might  be  adverse  to  the 
Americans,  and  that  Detroit  might  fall,  and  with  it 
every  hope  of  re-establishing  our  affairs  in  that  quarter 
until  the  next  year.  These  considerations  induced 
him  strongly  to  recommend  the  Secretary  of  War  to 
send  a  reinforcement  to  General  Hall. 

War  having  now  commenced  in  earnest,  the  eyes 
of  the  whole  West  were  turned  upon  Governor  Har 
rison  as  the  ablest  General,  and  one  of  the  most  pop 
ular  men  of  the  nation.  Governor  Scott,  of  Kentucky, 
*  Dawsoa's  Life  of  Harrison. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  Ill 

had  levied  an  armed  force  of  five  thousand  militia, 
commanded  by  some  of  the  most  experienced  officers 
of  the  State.  Two  thousand  of  these  were  designed 
for  immediate  service.  No  sooner  had  they  learned 
their  destination,  than  they  expressed  the  most  earn 
est  desire  to  be  placed  under  the  command  of  Gover 
nor  Harrison,  and  this  feeling  met  a  cordial  response 
from  the  people  of  the  entire  State. 

But  there  seemed  to  be  an  insuperable  difficulty  in 
the  way  of  such  an  arrangement  in  the  laws  of  Ken 
tucky,  which  prohibited  any  other  man  than  a  citizen 
of  the  State  from  holding  a  command  in  her  militia. 
In  this  dilemma,  Governor  Scott  held  a  consultation 
with  the  venerable  Isaac  Shelby,  Governor  elect, — 
Henry  Clay,  then  Speaker  of  the  United  States 
House  of  Representatives, —  Thomas  Todd,  United 
States  Judge, — and  several  other  most  distinguished 
individuals, — by  whom  it  was  unanimously  decided 
that  Governor  Harrison  should  receive  a  brevet  com 
mission  of  Major-General,  from  the  Governor  of  Ken 
tucky,  in  the  militia  of  that  State. 

This  was  a  distinction  as  unusual  as  it  was  honor 
able,  and  did  infinite  credit  to  the  judgment  and  fore 
sight  of  the  authorities  and  people  of  Kentucky.  It 
was  received  with  the  most  lively  satisfaction  by  the 
people  of  the  West,  and  inspired  a  feeling  of  confi 
dence  that  nothing  else,  short  of  a  defeat  of  the 
enemy,  could  have  produced. 

The  appointment  was  made  on  the  25th  of  August, 
1812,  and  shortly  after  he  marched  to  the  relief  of 


.  112  THE    LIFE    OF 

the  frontier  posts,  especially  Fort  Harrison,  on  the 
Wabash,  and  Fort  Wayne,  situated  on  the  Miami  of 
the  lakes.  He  reached  Cincinnati  on  the  27th  of  the 
same  month.  At  the  same  time,  Brigadier-General 
James  Winchester,  of  the  army  of  the  United  States, 
was  recruiting  at  Lexington ;  and  having  written  to 
the  Secretary  of  War,  that  he  intended  to  assume  the 
command  of  that  portion  of  the  Kentucky  troops  then 
under  General  Payne,  on  their  march  to  Detroit,  he 
accordingly  set  off  and  overtook  the  detachment  at 
Cincinnati.  Upon  General  Harrison's  arrival  at  that 
place,  he  informed  General  Winchester  of  the  author 
ity  he  had  received  to  take  the  command  of  the  Ken 
tucky  troops,  but  invited  him  to  continue  with  the 
army.  Winchester,  however,  immediately  returned 
to  Lexington.  On  the  28th,  he  wrote  the  letter  to 
the  Secretary  of  War,  suggesting  a  plan  of  opera 
tions  for  the  campaign,  an  incident  in  connection  with 
which  has  already  been  noticed.  On  the  30th,  he  left 
Cincinnati,  and  joined  his  troops  the  next  day  about 
forty  miles  north  of  that  city. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Secretary  of  War,  not 
having  yet  been  advised  of  the  appointment  con 
ferred  upon  Governor  Harrison  by  the  executive  of 
Kentucky,  had  appointed  General  Winchester  to  take 
command  of  the  same  troops.  The  information  of  this 
appointment,  in  reality  superseding  Harrison,  created 
no  little  excitement  and  disapprobation  throughout 
the  army ;  and  the  venerable  Shelby  at  once  wrote  to 
tie  Department,  remonstrating  against  the  proceed- 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  113 

ing,  as  a  measure  not  only  very  unpopular,  but  likely 
to  prove  highly  injurious  to  the  country.  But  Gen 
eral  Harrison,  ever  ready  to  submit  to  the  laws,  and 
cheerfully  to  yield  his  own  wishes  and  interests  to  the 
public  good,  at  once  wrote  to  General  Winchester, 
from  Piqua,  where  he  arrived  on  the  3rd  of  Septem 
ber,  to  come  to  that  place  and  assume  the  command 
of  the  detachment. 

While  waiting  the  arrival  of  General  Winchester, 
however,  he  determined  to  destroy  the  Indian  towns 
on  the  Wabash  Elk  Hart,  and  for  that  purpose  Gen 
eral  Wells  led  a  body  of  troops  to  the  latter  place, 
and  General  Harrison  himself  headed  those  destined 
for  the  former.  Both  of  these  expeditions  were  suc 
cessful  ;  and  after  having  destroyed  several  towns  and 
large  .quantities  of  corn,  they  returned  to  Fort  Wayne, 
where  General  Winchester  shortly  arrived  and  took 
command  of  that  portion  of  the  army  designed  for 
him.  This  consisted  of  the  regiments  of  Colonels 
Allen,  Lewis,  and  Scott,  of  the  Kentucky  troops, — 
Garrard's  troops  of  cavalry,  also  of  Kentucky, — and 
a  part  of  the  17th  United  States  regiment  of  infan 
try,  under  General  Wells. 

In  consequence  of  this  supersedure,  General  Har 
rison,  on  the  19th  of  September,  took  leave  of  the 
army  in  a  very  affectionate  manner,  and  set  out  for 
the  Indiana  Territory,  with  a  body  of  troops,  to  break 
the  settlements  of  the  savages.  In  his  general  order 
of  that  date,  he  closes  by  adding,  that  "  if  anything 
could  soften  the  regret  which  the  General  feels  at 
10* 


114  THE   LIFE   OF 

parting  with  troops  which  have  so  entirely  won  his 
confidence  and  affection,  it  is  the  circumstance  of  his 
committing  them  to  the  charge  of  one  of  the  heroes 
of  the  glorious  revolution,  a  man  distinguished  as 
well  for  the  services  he  has  rendered  the  country  as 
for  the  possession  of  every  qualification  which  consti 
tutes  the  gentleman." 

So  great  was  the  dissatisfaction  created  by  the 
appointment  of  Winchester  over  Harrison,  that  it  re 
quired  all  his  influence,  as  well  as  that  of  the  officers 
of  the  detachment,  to  recommend  the  soldiers  to  the 
change.  But  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
seeing  the  confidence  that  the  western  people  reposed 
in  General  Harrison,  and  anticipating  the  dissatisfac 
tion  that  his  withdrawal  from  the  army  would  pro 
duce,  appointed  him  commander-in-chief  of  the  whole 
western  department.  On  the  24th  of  September,  he 
received  a  letter  from  the  War  Department,  in  answer 
to  his  communication  from  Cincinnati  upon  his  ap 
pointment  by  the  Governor  of  Kentucky,  in  which 
the  Secretary  informing  him  that  in  taking  command 
of  the  north-western  army,  he  had  only  anticipated 
the  wishes  of  the  President.  A  few  days  after,  he 
received  another  dispatch,  dated  on  the  17th  day  of 
September,  officially  announcing  to  him  his  appoint 
ment  to  the  command  from  which  he  had  been  dis 
placed. 

A  messenger  was  therefore  dispatched  for  him, 
and  he  accordingly  returned  and  resumed  the  com 
mand  of  the  army.  The  most  extensive  powers  were 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  115 

conferred  upon  General  Harrison  by  the  President. 
He  was  authorized  to  command  all  such  means  as 
might  be  practicable,  to  exercise  his  own  discretion, 
and  act  in  all  cases  according  to  his  judgment.  Such 
unlimited  power  had  rarely  before  been  conferred 
upon  any  American  commander,  and  never  perhaps, 
except  upon  Washington  and  Greene.  General  Har 
rison,  however,  had  already  proved  himself  worthy 
of  such  confidence,  and  shown  that  power  in  his 
hands  never  would  be  abused,  and  never  used  except 
for  the  public  good,  and  to  promote  the  designs  of 
the  government.  In  communicating  the  appointment 
of  General  Harrison  to  Congress,  he  expressed  the 
most  unlimited  confidence  in  his  skill  and  ability. 

At  the  same  time  that  this  appointment  conferred 
upon  him  powers  of  the  most  delicate  kind,  it  also 
imposed  upon  him  responsibilities,  requiring  the  exer 
cise  of  all  his  great  talents.  The  services  he  was 
required  to  perform  were,  in  the  opinion  of  old,  ex 
perienced  able  officers,  the  most  extensive  and  arduous 
that  were  ever  required  of  any  commander  in  America. 
The  endless  number  of  posts  and  scattered  settle 
ments  which  he  was  obliged  to  maintain  and  protect, 
and  numerous  and  scattered  bands  of  Indians,  while 
he  was  contending  with  difficulties  almost  insurmount 
able,  in  the  main  expedition  against  Maiden,  were 
sufficient  to  employ  all  the  time  and  talents  and  re 
sources  of  the  greatest  military  genius  at  the  head  of 
a  well-appointed  army.* 

*  McAfee's  History  of  the  Last  War. 


H6  THE   LIFE   OF 

The  day  before  General  Harrison  returned  to 
Fort  Wayne  to  take  upon  himself  once  more  the  com 
mand  of  the  army,  General  Winchester  had  marched 
for  Fort  Defiance  on  his  way  to  the  Rapids,  the  ulti 
mate  destination  of  the  forces  under  his  command. 
It  consisted  of  a  brigade  of  Kentucky  militia,  four 
hundred  regulars,  and  a  troop  of  horse — in  all,  about 
two  thousand  men.  The  march  was  one  of  great 
difficulty  and  embarrassment,  and  to  facilitate  it, 
each  man  was  compelled  to  carry  provisions  for  six 
days.  General  Harrison  now  proceeded  in  person  to 
Fort  St.  Mary's,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  the 
ultimate  movements  of  the  army.  A  detachment  was 
ordered  to  proceed  with  supplies,  under  Major  Jen 
nings,  to  the  Auglaize  river. 

The  army  was  obliged  to  advance  with  great  cau 
tion,  in  order  to  avoid  surprise,  in  a  country  so  highly 
favorable  for  Indian  warfare.  Owing  to  the  close 
ness  of  the  thicket,  the  troops  were  compelled  to  cut 
out  a  road  as  they  proceeded,  and  were  unable  to 
proceed  more  than  seven  or  eight  miles  a  day.  They 
took  the  precaution  to  send  in  advance  a  party  of 
spies,  and  also  an  advance  guard  of  about  three  hun 
dred  men.  During  the  march,  they  fell  in  with  a 
party  of  Indians,  whom  they  succeeded  in  dislodging 
from  an  ambush  they  had  formed  for  the  Americans ; 
and  when  near  Fort  Defiance,  they  found  them  en 
camped  in  great  force  within  two  miles  of  that  fort. 
A  messenger  arrived  on  the  29th  of  September  from 
Colonel  Jennings,  with  the  information  that,  on  hav- 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  117 

ing  discovered  the  British  and  Indians  in  possession 
of  Fort  Defiance,  he  had  landed  about  forty  miles 
above  that  place,  and  erected  a  blockhouse,  where 
he  was  awaiting  further  orders.  He  was  ordered  to 
join  the  army  with  the  provisions,  and  the  order  was 
promptly  obeyed,  and  the  exhausted  army  was  once 
more  recruited  in  body  and  spirits.  In  the  meantime 
the  British  and  Indians  precipitately  abandoned  the 
fort,  and  the  American  army  took  immediate  posses 
sion  of  it.  , 

While  at  this  fort,  news  was  received  that  General 
Harrison  had  been  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
north-western  army.  This  intelligence  was  received 
with  the  liveliest  satisfaction  by  the  soldiers,  and  went 
far  to  reconcile  them  to  the  severe  hardships  they  were 
called  upon  to  endure.  In  announcing  the  appoint 
ment,  he  expressed  his  earnest  hope  that  General 
Winchester  might  remain  with  the  army.  On  the 
3rd  of  October  he  yielded  up  his  command  to  General 
Harrison.  In  his  general  order  of  that  date,  relin 
quishing  the  command  of  the  army  to  his  successor, 
he  expressed  a  high  opinion  of  the  great  military  skill 
and  reputation  of  General  Harrison,  and  declared  his 
belief  that  his  appointment  would  be  hailed  with  uni 
versal  satisfaction.  As  General  Winchester  prefer 
red  the  service  in  the  north-west  to  that  on  the  Ni 
agara  frontier,  General  Harrison  immediately  ap 
pointed  him  to  the  left  wing  of  the  army.* 

The   charge  has  been  preferred  against  General 

*  Sketches  of  the  civil  and  military  services  of  General  Harrison. 


118  THE   LIFE   OF 

Harrison,  by  the  friends  of  General  Winchester,  of 
having  procured  his  appointment  to  the  command  of 
the  north-western  army  by  unworthy  means.  But 
there  was  not  the  slightest  ground  for  the  accusation 
to  rest  upon,  and  it  has  been  so  triumphantly  dis 
proved  by  gentlemen  of  the  highest  character  and  the 
amplest  means  of  information,  that  it  left  no  impres 
sion  on  the  public  mind  injurious,  in  the  slightest  de 
gree,  to  the  reputation  of  General  Harrison. 

General  Harrison  left  Fort  Defiance  on  the  4th 
of  October,  and  returned  to  Fort  St.  Mary's,  with  the 
view  of  organizing  and  bringing  up  the  centre  of  the 
army.  General  Tupper  was  ordered  to  proceed  im 
mediately  to  the  Rapids,  by  the  commander-in-chief, 
with  about  one  thousand  men,  for  the  purpose  of 
driving  the  enemy  from  that  place.  But  the  expedi 
tion  proved  a  failure,  in  consequence  of  the  delays 
caused  by  the  damaged  state  of  the  ammunition  and 
the  requisite  time  necessary  to  prepare  the  provisions 
for  the  troops.  They  were  also  totally  insensible  to 
everything  like  military  discipline  or  subordination. 
So  literally  true  was  this,  that  upon  Major  Bush  being 
ordered  to  disperse  a  body  of  Indians  lurking  in  the 
vicinity,  the  whole  camp  broke  up  in  bodies  of  twenty 
and  thirty,  and  joined  in  the  chase  without  the  slight 
est  regard  for  order  or  even  common  prudence.  If 
they  had  been  attacked,  they  must  inevitably  have 
been  cut  to  pieces. 

General  Tupper  was,  immediately  after  this  oc 
currence,  ordered  to  go  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians,  and, 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  119 

if  possible,  to  ascertain  their  strength.  But  he  re 
presented  to  General  Winchester  the  disorganized 
state  of  his  troops,  and  requested  that  the  order  might 
be  countermanded.  The  commanding  general,  how 
ever,  peremptorily  persisted  in  it,  and  General  Tupper 
attempted  to  execute  it.  But  this  resulted  in  a  mis 
understanding  between  the  two  officers,  that  led  to 
the  appointment  of  Colonel  Allen  to  supersede  Gen 
eral  Tupper,  and  the  consequent  refusal  of  the  Ohio 
troops  to  submit  to  the  command  of  the  former.  The 
expedition,  therefore,  was  broken  up  and  abandoned. 

Nothing  more  could  now  be  done  until  the  arrival 
of  the  other  wing  of  the  army,  either  against  the 
Rapids  or  Detroit.  General  Tupper  having  returned 
to  Urbana,  after  his  misunderstanding  with  General 
Winchester,  with  his  mounted  men,  was  dispatched 
with  the  division  of  the  "centre,  consisting  of  a  bri 
gade  of  Ohio  volunteers  and  militia,  and  a  regiment 
of  regulars,  to  Fort  M'Arthur,  while  the  right  wing, 
consisting  of  a  Pennsylvania  and  a  Virginia  brigade, 
was  ordered  to  Sandusky.*  On  his  arrival  there,  he 
organized  another  expedition  to  proceed  against  the 
Rapids,  consisting  of  about  six  hundred  men.  The 
expedition  marched  on  the  10th  of  October,  and  ar 
rived  within  thirteen  miles  of  the  Rapids  on  the  13th, 
which  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the  British  and  In 
dians.  General  Tupper  marched  immediately  for  the 
fort,  intending  to  cross  the  river  and  attack  it  at 
once.  But  he  found  the  river  too  rapid  to  effect  this, 
*  Brackenridge's  History  of  tke  War. 


120  THE    LIFE    OP 

and  therefore  attempted  to  induce  the  enemy  to  cross 
by  resorting  to  a  stratagem.  This  was  only  partially 
successful,  though  a  considerable  number  finally 
crossed  over,  and  a  brisk  skirmish  ensued,  which 
finally  resulted  unfavorably  to  the  Americans,  and 
they  were  compelled  hastily  to  return  to  Fort  M'Ar- 
thur. 

After  the  failure  of  General  Tupper's  attempt  to 
cross  the  river,  he  dispatched  an  express  to  General 
Winchester  for  reinforcements,  and  upon  the  arrival 
of  his  second  express  he  found  that  a  detachment  of 
four  hundred  men  had  been  sent  out  under  the  com 
mand  of  Colonel  Lewis,  to  march  to  his  support.  On 
the  15th,  this  reinforcement  proceeded  on  their  march, 
and  during  the  night  Ensign  Charles  S.  Todd,  after 
wards  minister  to  Russia,  under  General  Taylor's 
administration,  was  sent  with  a  few  men  to  apprise 
General  Tupper  of  his  approach.  But  he  found 
General  Tupper's  camp  evacuated.  He  therefore  re 
turned,  and  Colonel  Lewis  at  once  retreated  to  Gen 
eral  Winchester's  camp.  Though  this  expedition  was 
in  some  degree  a  failure,  it  was  of  service  in  one  par 
ticular,  which  was  in  inducing  the  detachment  of  Brit 
ish  and  Indians  to  fall  back  to  the  river  Raisin,  and 
to  abandon  the  design  of  removing  the  corn  from  the 
farms  that  had  been  abandoned  at  the  Rapids,  the 
principal  object  of  their  expedition  to  that  place.* 

Events  of  considerable  importance,  meanwhile, 
were  transpiring  further  West.  A  large  army  had 
*  M'Afee's  History  of  the  late  War. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  121 

assembled  at  Vincennes,  and  early  in  October  pro 
ceeded  to  Fort  Harrison,  under  the  command  of  Gen 
eral  Hopkins,  and  sanctioned  by  Governor  Shelby,  of 
Kentucky.  This  army  reached  Fort  Harrison  about 
the  10th  of  October,  and  proceeded  soon  after  against 
the  Kickapoos  and  Peoria  towns.  But  after  a  march 
of  only  four  days,  evident  signs  of  discontent  began 
to  exhibit  themselves,  and  every  man  seemed  to  feel 
at  liberty  to  act  upon  his  own  responsibility,  and  the 
army  became  little  more  than  an  ungovernable  mob. 
They  demanded  to  be  led  back,  and  everything  was 
in  disorder;  and  after  every  effort  on  the  part  of 
General  Hopkins  to  awaken  in  his  men  some  little 
sense  of  duty  had  failed,  the  crowd  returned  to  Fort 
Harrison,  against  his  orders,  and  left  him  to  bring  up 
the  rear.  Not  long  after,  he  led  another  expedition 
against  the  towns  at  the  head  of  the  Wabash,  with 
more  success,  which  he  destroyed.  The  principal 
camp  of  the  Indians  was  also  discovered,  which  they 
were  compelled  to  evacuate,  though  they  occupied  an 
exceeding  strong  position. 

Some  time  previous  to  the  termination  of  this  ex 
pedition,  an  attack  was  made  on  Fort  Harrison,  then 
in  the  command  of  Captain  Zachary  Taylor,  after 
wards  President  of  the  United  States.  This  was  a 
rude  and  weak  stockade,  garrisoned  by  only  fifty 
men,  most  of  whom,  like  Captain  Taylor  himself,  were 
worn  down  and  disabled  by  their  long  and  severe  ser 
vice.  Almost  in  the  midst  of  an  enemy's  country, 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  a  sleepless  savage  foe,  and 
11 


122  THE   LIFE   OF 

kept  constantly  on  the  alert,  night  and  day,  for  weeks 
together,  Taylor  and  his  men  had  nearly  sunk  under 
the  fatigue  and  labor  they  had  been  compelled  to 
endure. 

While  in  this  wretched  condition,  with  scarcely  a 
dozen  men  fit  for  service,  he  was  attacked  on  the 
night  of  September  5th,  after  an  ineffectual  attempt 
to  get  possession  of  the  fort  by  stratagem,  by  a  force 
of  four  hundred  and  fifty  Indians.  The  attack  was 
commenced  about  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  amidst  the 
excitement  and  confusion  occasioned  by  the  burning 
of  the  lower  blockhouse,  containing  the  property  of 
the  contractor,  which  they  had  previously  fired.  The 
Indians,  confident  of  victory,  had  completely  sur 
rounded  the  garrison,  and  commenced  their  fire  upon 
all  sides,  simultaneously  with  the  firing  of  the  block 
house.  Captain  Taylor,  however,  was  prepared  for 
the  attack,  and  was  neither  dismayed  by  that  nor  the 
even  more  dangerous  enemy  they  had  called  to  their 
aid.  He  calmly  gave  his  orders  for  extinguishing  the 
flames,  but  for  a  long  time  all  efforts  were  fruitless. 
The.  fire  communicated  with  the  roof,  in  spite  of  all 
their  exertions  to  check  it.  Finally,  however,  by  his 
great  presence  of  mind,  and  the  well-directed  efforts 
of  his  men,  the  flames  were  subdued. 

Having  extinguished  the  fire,  and  erected  a  tem 
porary  breast-work,  the  fire  of  the  enemy  was  re 
turned  with  redoubled  vigor  during  the  whole  night, 
and  with  such  success  that,  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morn 
ing,  the  Indians  gave  up  the  contest  in  despair,  and 


WILLIAM   HENRY   HARRISON.  123 

withdrew  their  forces.  In  this  gallant  defense,  Cap 
tain  Taylor  lost  only  two  men  killed,  and  two  wounded. 
The  Indians  must  have  suffered  severely :  but  they 
were  in  sufficient  force  to  take  off  all  their  killed  and, 
wounded.  Soon  after,  he  was  reinforced  by  Colonel 
Russell,  with  several  companies  of  rangers  and  Indiana 
volunteers.  In  consequence  of  his  gallant  conduct  on 
this  occasion,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major. 
Soon  after  Colonel  Russell  had  relieved  Fort  Har 
rison,  he  undertook  an  expedition  against  the  Peoria 
towns,  and  destroyed  a  populous  village,  and  killed 
twenty  Indians.  About  the  same  time,.  Lieutenant 
Campbell  marched  with  a  small  detachment  against 
the  towns  on  the  Mississinewa  River,  a  branch  of  the 
Wabash,  which  resulted  in  defeating  a  body  of  Indi 
ans,  by  whom  they  were  furiously  attacked,  killing 
fifty  of  their  warriors  and  taking  thirty  prisoners. 
They  also  destroyed  several  of  their  villages,  in  vari 
ous  expeditions  of  less  importance,  but  in  which  the 
militia  of  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Missouri  Territories 
greatly  distinguished  themselves.  During  these  vari 
ous  expeditions,  the  Indians  had  been  so  harassed, 
and  their  means  of  subsistence  so  effectually  cut  off, 
that  they  began  seriously  to  doubt  whether  they  had 
acted  wisely  in  taking  up  arms  against  the  United 
'*  States,  and  even  to  repent  having  done  so.  The  only 
prospect  before  them  now  was  to  be  compelled  to  re 
move  to  distant  British  settlements. 


124  THE   LIFE   OJP 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THOUGH  the  season  had  now  considerably  ad 
vanced,  and  the  weather  had  become  extremely  cold, 
General  Harrison  did  not  retire  into  winter  quarters, 
nor  abandon  any  of  his  vigilance.  When  the  troops 
composing  the  left  wing  of  the  army  had  completed 
Fort  Winchester,  they  were  directed  by  him,  early  in 
December,  to  proceed  to  the  Rapids  as  soon  as  pro 
visions  for  a  few  weeks  could  be  provided.  And  on 
the  12th  of  the  same  month,  he  wrote  to  the  Secre 
tary  of  War,  that  if  there  were  not  some  important 
political  reason  urging  an  immediate  attempt  to  cap 
ture  Maiden,  and  recover  Michigan  Territory,  he 
would  suggest  that  an  effort  first  be  made  to  obtain 
command  of  Lake  Erie,  and  that  Maiden,  Detroit, 
and  Mackinaw  will  then  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
Americans,  almost  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  ne 
cessity  of  securing  the  naval  ascendancy  of  Lake 
Erie  had  been  forcibly  pointed  out  to  the  government 
by  him  as  early  as  the  year  1809.  He  established 
his  head  quarters  at  Upper  Sandusky,  on  the  20th  of 
this  month.  Whilst  here,  he  received  a  communica 
tion  from  Lieutenant-Colonel  Campbell,  giving  him 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  125 

official  information  of  the  result  of  his  expedition  to 
the  Mississinnewa  River,  and  immediately  started  for 
Chillicothe  to  consult  with  Governor  Meigs  about 
another  expedition  against  the  Indians  in  the  same 
quarter. 

General  Harrison's  plan  of  operations  for  the 
campaign  was  to  occupy  the  Miami  Rapids,  and  to 
deposit  as  much  provision  there  as  it  was  possible  for 
him  to  procure,  and  to  move  from  thence  with  a  choice 
detachment  of  the  army,  and  with  as  much  provision, 
artillery,  and  ammunition  as  the  means  of  transporta 
tion  would  allow.  His  design  also  was  to  make  a 
demonstration  from  this  point  towards  Detroit,  and 
by  a  sudden  passage  of  the  straits  of  Detroit  upon 
the  ice,  an  actual  investiture  of  Maiden.  Should  his 
offensive  operations  be  suspended  until  spring,  he 
strongly  advised,  as  the  most  effectual  as  well  as  the 
cheapest  plan,  would  be  to  obtain  the  command  of  the 
lake.  This  being  once  effected,  he  believed  that  every 
difficulty  would  be  removed,  and  that  an  armj  of  four 
thousand  men  landed  on  the  north  side  of  the  lake, 
below  Maiden,  would  soon  reduce  that  place,  retake 
Detroit,  and,  with  the  aid  of  the  fleet,  proceed  down 
the  lake  to  co-operate  with  the  army  from  Niagara. 

On  General  Harrison's  arrival  at  Sandusky,  he  ex 
pected  to  be  met  by  an  express  from  General  Win 
chester,  with  information  of  his  advance  to  the  Rapids, 
in  conformity  with  advice  that  had  previously  been 
given  him.  But  as  no  such  information  had  arrived, 
he  dispatched  Ensign  Todd  to  Winchester's  camp,  on 


126  THE   LIFE   OF 

the  Miami,  below  Fort  Defiance.  He  performed  the 
journey  with  great  secrecy  and  dispatch,  having  com 
pletely  eluded  all  the  scouts  of  the  enemy.  He  was 
instructed  to  communicate  to  General  Winchester  the 
following  directions  and  plans  from  the  commander- 
in-chief :  that  as  soon  as  he  had  accumulated  provi 
sions  for  twenty  days,  to  advance  to  the  Rapids, 
where  he  was  to  commence  the  building  of  huts  to  in 
duce  the  enemy  to  believe  that  he  was  going  into  win 
ter  quarters  there,  and  to  construct  sleds  for  the  main 
expedition  against  Maiden.  He  was  to  impress  it 
upon  his  men,  however,  that  they  were  for  transport 
ing  provisions  from  the  interior.  The  different  lines 
of  the  army  were  to  be  concentrated  at  that  place, 
and  a  choice  detachment  from  the  whole  would  then 
be  marched  rapidly  upon  Maiden.  In  the  meantime 
he  was  to  occupy  the  Rapids,  for  the  purpose  of  se 
curing  the  provisions  and  stores  forwarded  from  the 
other  wings  of  the  army. 

A  tolerable  supply  of  provisions  having  been  re 
ceived,  General  Winchester  took  up  his  march  for  the 
Rapids,  and  at  the  same  time  Leslie  Combs,  a  volun 
teer  in  the  army,  was  sent  to  inform  the  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  movements.  While  on  his  march  to 
the  Rapids,  General  Winchester  received  a  dispatch 
from  General  Harrison,  recommending  him  to  aban 
don  the  movement  to  the  Rapids  and  fall  back  to 
Fort  Jennings.  The  recommendation,  however,  was 
disregarded,  and  on  the  10th  of  January  the  detach 
ment  reached  the  Rapids.  A  despatch  was  sent  to 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  127 

the  commander-in-chief  of  the  arrival  of  the  troops  at 
that  place,  but  was  not  received  by  him,  in  conse 
quence  of  various  delays,  until  his  arrival  himself  at 
the  Rapids.  On  the  12th  another  despatch  was  for 
warded  to  General  Harrison,  advising  him  that  no  re 
liance  could  be  placed  on  retaining  the  Kentucky 
troops  after  the  expiration  of  their  term  of  service  in 
February.  This  was  received  by  the  commander-in- 
chief  on  the  16th,  and  was  the  first  information  he 
had  of  the  arrival  of  General  Winchester  at  the 
Rapids. 

Information  was  received  by  General  Winchester, 
on  the  13th  of  January,  that  the  Indians  were  threat 
ening  an  attack  upon  the  settlement  on  the  River 
Raisin,  and  asking  assistance  from  him.  In  accord 
ance  with  this  request,  Colonel  Lewis  was  dispatched 
by  him  on  the  17th,  at  the  head  of  six  hundred  troops, 
to  protect  Frenchtown  on  that  river,  and  at  once 
moved  down  to  Presque  Isle,  a  distance  of  twenty 
miles  from  the  Rapids.  Here  he  received  informa 
tion  which  should  have  induced  him  to  request  a  rein 
forcement;  but,  instead  of  this,  he  pushed  on  his 
command  to  Frenchtown,  where  he  arrived  the  next 
day.  On  the  same  day  he  attacked  the  combined 
forces  of  British  and  Indians,  and  defeated  them  with 
great  loss,  having  driven  them  for  two  miles  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet. 

News  of  this  victory  was  sent  to  General  Winches 
ter  on  the  night  after  the  engagement,  who  at  once 
marched  to  the  Rapids,  and  reached  Frenchtown  on 


128  THE   LIFE   OF 

the  night  of  the  20th.  He  encamped  on  the  right  of 
Lewis'  detachment,  which  was  defended  by  some  gar 
den  pickets.  The  reinforcement  was  commanded  by 
General  Wells.  General  Winchester  himself  establish 
ed  his  head-quarters  at  a  house  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river,  more  than  half  a  mile  distant  from  his  troops. 
The  day  after  the  arrival  of  Winchester,  a  spot  was 
selected  for  the  encampment  of  the  army,  intending 
to  fortify  it  the  next  day.* 

No  sooner  was  the  news  of  the  defeat  of  the  Brit 
ish  and  Indians  by  Colonel  Lewis  known  at  Fort  Mai 
den,  a  British  fort,  it  will  be  recollected,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Detroit  River,  or  straits,  in  Canada, 
than  a  large  reinforcement  was  sent  from  that  post, 
and  preparations  were  made  for  an  immediate  attack 
upon  the  Americans.  On  the  22nd,  accordingly,  at 
reiville,  the  attack  was  commenced  by  a  considerable 
British  and  Indian  force,  with  six  pieces  of  artillery. 
The  troops  being  completely  surprised,  and  the  ground 
unfavorable,  had  but  little  opportunity  of  forming  to 
advantage.  They  were  entirely  surrounded,  and  broke 
in  twenty  or  thirty  minutes.  One  major,  a  captain, 
and  twenty  or  thirty  privates,  were  all  that  effected 
their  escape. 

When  General  Harrison  received  mtormation  that 
the  action  had  commenced,  he  was  three  miles  above 
the  Rapids,  with  only  three  hundred  and  sixty  men. 
He  immediately  ordered  them  to  march  to  the  relief 
of  Winchester,  and  set  out  himself  and  staff  to  over- 

*  Sketches  of  the  Life  of  General  Hairi«on. 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  129 

take  a  detachment  of  three  hundred  men  that  had  a 
few  hours  before  started  for  the  River  Raisin.  He 
overtook  them  at  the  distance  of  six  miles,  but  before 
the  troops  that  had  set  out  with  him  had  come  up,  he 
ascertained  that  Winchester  had  met  with  a  disastrous 
defeat.  It  was  the  unanimous  opinion  of  General 
Payne,  General  Perkins,  and  the  field  officers,  that 
these  two  detachments  should  now  return.  But  a  de 
tachment  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  picked  men 
was  sent  forward,  with  orders  to  proceed  as  far  as 
possible,  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  those  who  were 
so  fortunate  as  to  escape.  Very  few,  however,  suc 
ceeded  in  reaching  the  American  camp,  the  snow  be 
ing  so  deep  that  the  fugitives  became  entirely  ex 
hausted  in  running  a  few  miles — not  more  than  forty 
or  fifty  who  got  a  mile  from  the  scene  of  action,  and 
the  greater  part  of  them  were  overtaken  and  mas 
sacred. 

Until  this  disastrous  defeat,  the  American  army 
was  in  a  most  prosperous  condition,  the  result  solely 
of  the  unfortunate  step  of  marching  to  the  River  Rai 
sin,  not  only  without  the  authority  of  the  commander- 
in-chief,  but  in  opposition  to  his  views  and  even  his 
express  advice.  Even  if  Colonel  Lewis  had  been 
satisfied  to  return  after  his  defeat  of  the  Indians  and 
British,  everything  would  have  been  well,  notwith 
standing  the  original  error  of  General  Winchester. 
But  in  resolving  to  hold  Frenchtown,  a  measure  sanc 
tioned  by  Winchester,  they  brought  upon  their  troops 
the  fatal  calamity  which  befell  them  on  the  22nd. 


130  THE   LIFE   OP 

Everything  was  done  by  General  Harrison  to  avert 
the  disaster,  after  he  had  discovered  the  false  step 
General  Winchester  had  taken,  and  reinforcements 
were  pushed  on  with  all  possible  rapidity.  Major 
Congreve's  battalion,  the  finest  body  of  troops  in  the 
army,  was  within  fourteen  miles  of  the  action,  and 
three  hundred  regular  troops  were  also  on  their  way, 
when  they  heard  of  the  defeat,  leaving  him  with  but 
a  single  regiment  at  the  Rapids. 

The  British  troops  in  this  action  were  commanded 
by  the  notorious  General  Proctor,  and  the  savages  by 
Hound  Head  and  Split  Log,  two  famous  chiefs.  Their 
forces,  united,  amounted  to  about  fifteen  hundred, 
while  the  American  numbered  only  one  thousand. 
The  American  right  wing  was  either  'cut  to  pieces  or 
surrendered  themselves  prisoners  to  the  British,  un 
der  promise  of  protection.  But  the  left  wing  con 
tinued  to  fight  with  desperate  courage,  and  in  attempt 
ing  to  rally  the  right,  General  Winchester  and  Colo 
nel  Lewis  were  taken  prisoners.  They  repulsed  every 
assault  of  the  enemy  with  unsurpassed  gallantry, 
making  dreadful  slaughter  in  his  ranks. 

The  British  commander  at  length  attempted  to  se 
cure,  by  fraud  and  treachery,  what  he  either  could  not 
by  force  of  arms,  or  what  must  be  secured  at  too  great 
a  sacrifice.  General  Winchester  was  informed  by 
Proctor,  that  unless  bis  men  surrendered,  they  would 
be  delivered  over  to  the  fury  of  the  savages,  or  at 
least  that  he  would  not  be  responsible  for  their  con 
duct,  and  that  the  village  would  be  burnt.  These 


WILLIAM    HENHY    HARRISON.  131 

threats,  or  rather  the  promises  of  protection  made  by 
Proctor,  induced  General  Winchester  to  agree  to  a 
surrender  of  his  troops  as  prisoners  of  war  on  condi 
tion  of  being  protected  from  his  savage  allies.  It 
was  not,  however,  until  these  flags  of  truce  had 
passed  that  the  remnant  of  the  little  army,  then  con 
sisting  of  thirty-five  officers  and  four  hundred  and 
fifty  non-commissioned  officers  and  men,  would  con 
sent  to  the  terms  of  the  surrender*.  They  did  agree 
to  the  terms  of  the  surrender,  after  the  most  solemn 
assurances  from  Proctor  that  he  would  faithfully  ad 
here  to  all  its  conditions,  and  not  only  protect  their 
lives,  but  respect  private  property. 

No  sooner  had  they  laid  down  their  arms,  how 
ever,  than  it  was  discovered  that  they  had  been  fully 
betrayed  by  the  infamous  and  blood-thirsty  Proctor, 
and  that  they  were  to  be  butchered  in  cold  blood  by 
their  brutal  and  savage  conquerors.  The  work  of 
scalping  and  stripping  the  dead,  and  of  murdering 
the  wounded,  who  had  previously  fallen  into  their 
hands,  had  already  commenced.  And  the  barbarous 
outrage  was  suffered  to  go  on  without  the  least  at 
tempt  to  restrain  it  on  the  part  of  the  infamous  Proc 
tor.  Indeed,  so  far  from  this  being  the  case,  or  from 
his  exhibiting  any  inclination  to  arrest  his  savage 
fiends  in  the  work  of  carnage,  he  seems  to  have  en 
couraged  and  advised  it ;  and  when  they  could  find 
no  other  victims  of  this  class  to  vent  their  thirst  for 
vengeance  and  blood  upon,  they  begun  to  butcher  the 
*  Breckemidge's  Late  War. 


*32  THE   LIFE   OF 

brave  men  who  had  laid  down  their  arms  under  the 
pledged  faith  of  the  British  commander. 

He,  as  well  as  his  equally  infamous  officers,  turned 
a  deaf  ear  to  the  remonstrances  of  their  now  unre 
sisting  and  defenceless  victims,  and  they  were  toma 
hawked  and  scalped  by  dozens  and  scores.  The  few 
that  survived  this  first  wholesale  slaughter  were  placed 
in  the  rear  of  their  forces  in  charge  of  the  Indians, 
to  be  marched  to  Maiden.  But  long  before  they 
reached  that  post  they,  too,  were  murdered,  one  by 
one,  as  they  became  too  weak  to  walk,  either  from 
their  wofcnds  or  exposure  to  the  inclemency  of  the 
season.  Those  who  were  not  thus  inhumanly  but 
chered  were  reserved  for  the  more  horrible  fate  of 
being  roasted  at  the  stake. 

The  night  after  the  action,  from  fifty  to  sixty  of 
the  prisoners  who  had  been  badly  wounded,  most  of 
them  officers  of  distinction,  were  permitted  to  take 
shelter  with  the  citizens  of  Frenchtown,  and  Proctor's 
surgeons  suffered  to  dress  their  wounds.  They  were 
promised,  too,  a  sufficient  guard  to  protect  them  from 
the  scalping  knife  of  the  savages.  But  this  was  only 
the  refinement  of  cruelty;  no  such  guard  was  pro 
vided.  On  the  contrary,  they  were  probably  pointed 
out  to  the  savage  hell-hounds,  by  the  infamous  wretch 
who  employed  them  for  such  infernal  objects,  as  easy 
victims  of  their  fiend-like  hatred;  and,  as  has  been 
foreseen  and  designed,  they  fell  upon  them  the  same 
night,  plundered  them  of  their  clothing  and  every 
article  of  value  in  their  possession,  murdered  the  most 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  133 

of  them  in  the  most  horrible  manner,  and  then  set 
fire  to  the  houses,  consuming  alike  the  few  remaining 
and  the  bodies  of  the  slain  in  the  flames. 

Infamous  as  these  acts  of  infernal  barbarity  were, 
and  as  eternally  infamous  as  they  must  render  the 
memory  of  the  blood-thirsty  monster  who  permitted 
them,  both  were  increased,  if  it  were  possible  to  add 
to  the  cruelty  of  such  acts  and  the  infamy  of  such  a 
monster,  by  his  treatment  of  the  bodies  of  his  slaugh 
tered  victims.  It  would  seem  that  the  innocent  blood 
he  had  shed  would  have  satisfied  the  most  unrelenting 
and  sanguinary ;  but  not  so  with  Proctor ;  he  even 
refused  to  permit  those  rites  which  every  civilized 
country  held  sacred.  The  inhuman  wretch  refused 
to  permit  the  citizens  of  Frenchtown  to  bury  the  bo 
dies  of  the  murdered  soldiers,  on  pain  of  death ! 
These  bodies  were  suffered  to  lie  on  the  ground  ex 
posed  to  ferocious  beasts  of  prey,  or  the  more  hor 
rible  pollution  of  domestic  animals. 

There  were  many  scenes  of  individual  suffering 
which  created  even  a  stronger  feeling  of  sorrow  for 
this  bloody  tragedy,  and  increased  the  melancholy 
interest  felt  for  its  numerous  victims.  Amongst  those 
was  the  case  of  Captain  Hart,  a  near  relative  of 
Henry  Clay,  an  accomplished  gentleman  and  ripe 
scholar,  who  particularly  distinguished  himself  during 
the  action.  Upon  being  surrendered,  he  was  recog 
nized  by  Colonel  Elliot,  who  was  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  with  whom  he  had  been  a  class-mate 
at  Princeton,  but  who  had  become  an  officer  in  the 
12 


131  THE    LIFE  OF 

British  army,  and  an  ally  of  the  savages.  Elliot 
voluntarily  offered  his  old  friend  his  protection,  but 
subsequently  either  changed  his  mind  or  was  forbid 
den  to  keep  his  promise  by  the  savage  Proctor,  for  he 
gave  himself  no  further  concern  in  regard  to  Captain 
Hart.  The  next  day  a  party  of  savages  came  into 
his  room  and  tore  him  from  his  bed.  He  was  taken 
to  another  room  by  some  brother  officers,  when  he  was 
again  subjected  to  the  same  barbarity.  By  the  offer 
of  a  large  sum  of  money,  he  induced  some  Indians  to 
take  him  to  Maiden ;  but  when  they  had  proceeded  a 
short  distance,  he  was  dragged  from  his  horse,  shot 
and  scalped.  The  same  tragedy  was  enacted  respect 
ively  in  the  case  of  Colonel  Allen,  Captains  Hick- 
man,  Woolfolk  and  M'Cracken;  also,  Mr.  Simpson,  a 
member  of  Congress  from  Kentucky,  and  Captains 
Bledsoe,  Watson,  Hamilton,  Williams  and  Kelly,  and 
Majors  Madison  and  Ballard,  from  the  same  State, 
were  amongst  the  victims.* 

Becoming  restless  under  the  load  of  infamy  which 
his  conduct  had  brought  upon  him,  Proctor  sought  to 
wipe  out  some  little  portion  of  the  stigma  by  offering 
the  very  few  prisoners  who  had  escaped  the  Indian 
tomahawk,  for  sale,  instead  of  permitting  them  to  be 
murdered;  and  in  pursuance  of  this  impulse  of  hu 
manity,  prisoners  of  the  highest  respectability  were 
literally  hawked  about  the  streets  of  Detroit  like 
beasts  of  prey,  by  their  captors,  in  search  of  pur 
chasers.  The  conduct  of  the  people  of  Detroit,  in  re- 

*  Brackenridgo's  History  of  the  Late  War. 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  135 

gard  to  those  unfortunate  prisoners,  was  of  the  most 
humane  and  noble  character.  Many  of  them  parted 
with  everything  in  their  possession  to  procure  means 
for  purchasing  them,  and  all  vied  with  each  other  in 
acts  of  benevolence,  women  taking  the  lead  in  the 
good  work.  They  gladly  gave  their  shawls,  and  even 
the  blankets  from  their  beds,  when  nothing  else  was 
left  them  to  give.*  But  these  horrible  details  need 
not  be  pursued  farther.  The  voice  of  the  civilized 
world  has  assigned  to  the  principal  actors  in  the  bar 
barities,  that  have  been  but  faintly  portrayed  above, 
a  depth  of  degradation  from  which  no  length  of  time 
and  no  power  of  sophistry  can  rescue  them,  and  their 
crimes  have  been  so  indelibly  stamped  upon  the  his 
tory  of  the  times,  that  no  effort  can  erase  the  damn 
ing  stain. 

In  pursuance  with  the  unanimous  advice  of  his 
general  and  field  officers,  upon  hearing  Winchester's 
defeat,  General  Harrison  fell  back  to  the  Rapids,  and 
immediately  set  about  constructing  a  fort,  which,  in 
honor  of  Governor  Meigs,  of  Ohio,  for  his  patriotic 
efforts  in  behalf  of  the  American  army,  he  named 
Fort  Meigs.  Fortifications  were  also  constructed  at 
Upper  Sandusky,  by  General  Crooks,  who  commanded 
the  Pennsylvania  militia.  Excepting  some  other  par- 
tizan  excursions  of  little  moment,  the  first  campaign 
may  be  considered  as  having  ended.  The  movements 
of  General  Winchester  and  his  overwhelming  defeat 
had  so  entirely  deranged  all  his  plans,  that  it  was 
*  Brackenridge'a  History  of  the  Late  War. 


136  THE   LIFE    OP 

necessary  to  organize  a  new  system,  and  make  new 
preparations  for  the  approaching  campaign.  He  ac 
cordingly  returned  to  Ohio  for  the  purpose  of  obtain 
ing  reinforcements  from  that  State  and  Kentucky.* 

General  Harrison  had  continued  to  flatter  himself 
with  the  hope  that  he  might  find  an  opportunity  dur 
ing  the  winter  to  carry  into  execution  his  long-cher 
ished  enterprise  of  attacking  Fort  Maiden.  The  bar 
barities  of  Proctor  had  stimulated  his  desire,  as  well 
as  that  of  his  troops,  to  get  possession  of  that  post. 
For  this  purpose  he  had  ordered  up  all  his  troops  in 
the  rear,  except  such  as  were  necessary  to  maintain 
the  forts  on  the  Auglaize  and  the  St.  Mary's.  He 
had  intended  to  advance  against  Maiden  by  the  15th 
of  February,  disperse  the  Indians,  destroy  the  ship 
ping,  and  establish  a  post  near  Brownstown,  and  re 
main  there  until  the  weather  should  become  suffi 
ciently  cold  to  freeze  the  lakes  and  swamps,  so  as  to 
permit  the  artillery  to  be  brought  up.  It  continued 
so  rainy,  however,  and  the  period  for  which  the  Ken 
tucky  and  Ohio  troops  had  engaged  to  serve  being 
about  to  expire,  he  was  reluctantly  compelled  to 
abandon  for  the  season  his  contemplated  attack  upon 
Maiden.  All  further  thoughts  were  now  abandoned 
by  the  commander-in-chief  of  continuing  a  campaign 
which  had  virtually  ended  with  the  defeat  of  Win 
chester. 

*  Brackenridge's  Late  War. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  337 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

BEFORE  following  General  Harrison  into  the  next 
campaign,  a  hasty  glance  will  be  taken  at  events  that 
had  in  the  meantime  transpired  upon  other  portions 
of  the  theatre  of  war.  A  short  time  preceding  the 
declaration  of  war,  William  Hull,  then  governor  of 
the  Territory  of  Michigan,  a  revolutionary  officer  of 
distinction,  and  then  recently  appointed  a  brigadier- 
general  in  the  regular  army,  was  placed  in  command 
of  twelve  hundred  Ohio  volunteers,  a  regiment  of 
United  States  infantry,  and  some  detachments  of 
other  regiments,  with  which  he  arrived  at  Detroit  on 
the  5th  of  July,  1812.  Before  taking  the  command, 
he  had  received  discretionary  power  to  act  offensively 
in  case  of  war.  He  therefore  determined  on  an  inva 
sion  of  Canada,  and  great  preparations  were  made  for 
the  enterprise,  and  on  the  12th  of  July  the  main  body 
of  the  army  crossed  into  Canada.  General  Hull  issued 
a  proclamation  to  the  inhabitants,  which  induced  a  con 
siderable  number  of  them  to  join  the  American  stand 
ard,  and  favorably  inclined  the  most  of  them  towards 
the  Americans. 

Immediately  after  the  army  entered  Canada,  an 
expedition  was   sent   out  under  Colonel  M'Arthur, 
12* 


138  THE   LIFE   OF 

with  the  view  of  reconnoitering  the  country,  and  on 
the  16th  another,  for  the  same  purpose,  under  Colonel 
Cass.  Both  these  enterprises  were  highly  successful, 
and  proved  that,  had  the  army  of  invasion  been  en 
trusted  to  a  bold,  skilful  and  patriotic  officer,  it  would 
most  certainly  have  succeeded  in  subduing  to  our 
arms  the  whole  of  Lower  Canada.  Maiden,  situated 
at  the  junction  of  Detroit  River  with  Lake  Erie,  and 
then  the  key  to  that  province,  might  have  been  re 
duced  with  scarcely  an  effort.  But  General  Hull 
remained  comparatively  idle  at  Sandwich,  and  the 
favorable  opportunity  for  striking  a  blow  that  would 
have  ended  the  war  in  that  quarter  permitted  to  pass 
unimproved.  While  waiting  here  for  cannon  in  order 
to  attack  Maiden,  news  was  received  that  Mackinac 
had  been  surprised  and  taken  by  the  British  on  the 
17th  of  July,  the  garrison,  through  the  criminal 
neglect  of  Hull,  not  even  having  been  advised  of  the 
declaration  of  war.  By  the  fall  of  this  important 
post,  the  British  were  enabled  to  collect  such  a  force 
at  Maiden  as  put  it  out  of  the  power  of  an  army,  un 
der  such  a  leader  as  Hull,  to  accomplish  anything 
against  it.  He  accordingly  abandoned  Canada,  with 
the  exception  of  a  small  detachment  left  to  protect 
the  inhabitants  who  had  taken  up  arms  for  the  Amer 
icans,  and  arrived  at  Detroit,  where  he  had  deter 
mined  to  concentrate  his  force,  on  the  8th  of  August. 
The  evacuation  of  Canada,  after  so  prosperous  a 
parade,  without  accomplishing  anything  of  real  ad 
vantage  to  our  arms,  created  not  only  loud  murmurs 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  139 

against  General  Hull,  but  even  suspicion  of  treachery. 
After  his  arrival  at  Detroit,  two  attempts  were  made 
to  open  a  communication  with  the  River  Raisin — one 
by  Colonel  Miller  with  six  hundred  men,  and  another* 
by  Colonels  M'Arthur  and  Cass  at  the  head  of  three 
hundred  men.  Colonel  Miller  met  and  was  attacked 
by  a  superior  body  of  British  and  Indians.  He,  how 
ever,  defeated  them,  after  a  severe  engagement,  with 
great  loss  ;  but  he  was  compelled  to  return  to  Detroit, 
in  consequence  of  the  great  fatigue  his  troops  suffered 
during  the  action.  The  other  detachment  set  off  on 
the  14th  of  August,  six  days  after  Colonel  Miller. 

The  day  following  the  departure  of  Colonels  Cass 
and  M'Arthur,  General  Brock,  the  British  commander, 
dispatched  two  officers  with  a  flag  of  truce,  from 
Sandwich,  demanding  of  Hull  the  immediate  sur 
render  of  Detroit,  as  the  only  means  of  preventing  a 
general  massacre  by  the  Indians  in  his  army.  Hull 
replied  that  he  was  prepared  to  meet  any  force  that 
could  be  sent  against  him,  and  was  prepared  to  abide 
the  consequence.  On  the  return  of  the  flag,  the 
British  opened  a  brisk  fire  from  their  batteries  at 
Sandwich,  which  was  as  vigorously  returned  by  the 
Americans.  The  firing  was  kept  up  till  ten  o'clock 
at  night,  and  resumed  early  the  next  morning. 

During  the  night  the  British  ships  of  war  had 
moved'  up  the  river  in  order  to  protect  the  landing  of 
the  troops.  About  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
16th  of  August,  accordingly,  the  landing  was  effected, 
and  immediately  they  advanced  upon  the  fort.  The 


140  THE   LIFE   OP 

• 

American  forces  had,  in  the  meantime,  been  judi 
ciously  posted,  and  had  placed  several  pieces  of  can 
non  so  advantageously  as  to  command  the  approach 
of  the  enemy  and  sweep  the  whole  of  his  line  as  he 
advanced.  The  enemy,  however,  fearlessly  advanced, 
and  all  was  anxiety  amongst  the  American  army,  ex 
pecting  every  moment  that  the  fire  would  commence, 
when  General  Hull,  to  the  mortification,  amazement 
and  indignation  of  his  whole  army,  ordered  a  whig 
flag  to  be  hoisted  and  the  firing  to  be  suspended.  The 
firing  from  the  British  side  also  was  immediately  sus 
pended.  A  treaty  was  at  once  entered  into,  and 
terms  of  capitulation  agreed  to  by  Hull,  by  which  the 
whole  territory,  with  all  the  American  forts,  and  De 
troit,  with  all  the  American  troops,  public  stores,  and 
everything  else  of  a  public  nature,  as  well  as  the  de 
tachment  under  Colonels  M'Arthur  and  Cass,  who 
were  absent,  were  surrendered  to  the  British.  By 
this  shameful  surrender,  twenty-five  pieces  of  iron  and 
eight  pieces  of  brass  ordinance,  the  latter  taken  from 
Burgoyne,  just  thirty-five  years  before,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  British,  also  twenty-five  hundred  mus 
kets  and  rifles,  and  a  large  quantity  of  ammunition. 
General  Hull  was  tried  by  a  court-martial  on  a  charge 
of  treason,  imbecility  and  cowardice.  He  was  vir 
tually  acquitted  of  treason,  and  sentenced  to  be  shot 
on  the  other  charges,  though  he  was  recommended  to 
mercy  in  consideration  of  his  revolutionary  services. 
The  sentence  was  remitted  by  the  President,  but  his 
name  stricken  from  the  rolls  of  the  army. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  141 

This  event,  so  disgraceful  to  our  arms,  and  so 
mortifying  to  our  national  pride,  was  received  with 
one  burst  of  indignation  throughout  the  whole  Union, 
and  an  army  at  once  sprung  up  at  the  West,  almost 
as  if  by  magic,  determined  to  avenge  their  lost  friends 
and  retrieve  their  tarnished  honor.  This  army,  as 
has  been  seen,  was  placed  under  the  command  of 
Governor  Harrison. 

The  American  forces  on  the  frontier  were  sta 
tioned  at  Plattsburgh,  under  General  Bloomfield ;  at 
Buffalo  under  General  Smith,  and  at  Sacket's  Har 
bor  and  Black  Rock  and  Ogdensburgh — the  whole 
being  under  the  command  of  General  Dearborn.  The 
militia  of  the  State  of  New  York,  under  General  Van 
Rensselaer,  amounting  to  three  thousand  five  hundred, 
were  stationed  at  Lewistown.  Owing  to  an  armistice 
that  had  been  entered  into  between  General  Dearborn 
and  Sir  George  Provost,  it  was  late  in  the  season  be 
fore  any  movement  of  importance  was  made  by  either 
commander.  The  time  was  therefore  employed  by 
the  American  officers  in  drilling  and  disciplining  their 
troops  and  in  preparing  for  active  service. 

As  the  season  for  military  operations  was  now  so 
far  advanced  that  the  militia  began  to  display  great 
impatience  and  anxiety  to  be  led  against  the  enemy, 
General  Van  Rensselaer,  therefore,  determined  to 
make  an  attack  upon  Queenstown,  a  British  post,  situ 
ate  on  the  Canada  side  of  the  Niagara  River,  directly 
opposite  his  quarters  at  Lewistown.  The  attempt 
was  to  be  made  on  the  13th  of  October.  The  troopa 


142  THA    LIFE   OF 

were  to  cross  over  in  two  divisions,  one  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  Solomon  Van  Renssel^r,  and 
the  other  under  Lieutenant  Colonel  Chrystie ;  -  but, 
owing  to  a  deficiency  of  boats,  only  a  portion  of 
each  detachment  could  pass  over;  and  even  such  as 
could  be  procured  did  not  all  reach  the  opposite  side. 
The  attack,  however,  was  immediately  commenced  by 
the  troops  who  succeeded  in  landing,  and  the  enemy 
gradually  gained  ground  in  front  of  Colonel  Van 
Rensselaer.  He,  as  well  as  Colonel  Fenwick,  had 
both  been  so  severely  wounded  as  to  be  compelled  to 
quit  the  field.  Each  company  now  fought  on  his  own 
responsibility,  there  being  no  one  entitled  to  com 
mand.  The  enemy,  however,  were  soon  driven  from 
the  great  height,  called  the  "mountain,"  having  pre 
viously  carried  a  battery  in  their  ascent.  The  enemy 
fled  precipitately  to  Queenstown,  where  they  were 
met  and  rallied  by  General  Brock.  He  instantly  led 
them  to  the  charge,  but  when  at  the  distance  of  an 
hundred  paces,  fell  mortally  wounded.  His  troops 
were  again  dispersed. 

At  this  moment  Lieutenant  Colonel  Winfield  Scott 
arrived  on  the  heights,  having  been  ordered  over  to 
take  the  command  of  the  whole  force.  General 
Wadsworth  claimed  to  command  the  militia,  however, 
and  he  was  therefore  only  permitted  to  command  the 
regular  troops,  only  about  two  hundred  and  thirty  in 
all.  But  with  this  small  force  he  made  prompt  ar 
rangements  for  meeting  the  enemy.  With  the  assist 
ance  of  Captain  Totten,  of  the  engineers,  Colonel 


WILLIAM     HLMIY    HARRISON.  143 

Scott  drew  up  his  men  in  the  most  judicious  manner. 
His  position  was  the  strongest  that  could  be  chosen, 
and  so  selected,  that  he  could  protect  the  boats  as  they 
landed  from  the  other  side  with  additional  troops,  and 
also  receive  the  enemy  at  the  best  advantage. 

The  firing  in  the  morning  had  attracted  the  atten 
tion  of  the  British  garrison  at  Fort  George  and  the 
Indians  collected  there.  The  Indians,  amounting  to 
four  hundred  strong,  arrived  first  at  the  scene  of  ac 
tion,  and  a  sharp  conflict  at  once  ensued.  Colonel 
Scott  received  the  enemy  with  his  regulars  in  gallant 
style,  and  routed  them  with  considerable  loss.  He 
pursued  them  as  far  as  the  main  design  of  protecting 
the  landing  of  troops  would  permit,  and  then  resumed 
his  position.  On  account  of  their  great  superiority, 
the  enemy  was  induced  to  renew  the  attack.  He 
drove  in  the  pickets  and  forced  his  way  into  the 
midst  of  the  American  camp.  All  was  now  confu 
sion.  Defeat  and  massacre  seemed  almost  inevitable. 
At  this  critical  moment,  Colonel  Scott,  who  had  been 
everywhere  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight,  stimulating 
his  men  by  his  presence  and  example,  by  great  exer 
tions  brought  the  retreating  line  to  stand  to  face  the 
enemy.  They  at  once  caught  the  spirit  of  their  brave 
and  chivalrous  leader.  With  a  burst  of  enthusiasm, 
as  sudden  as  the  panic  of  the  moment  before,  the  line 
charged  upon  their  pursuers  with  such  impetuous  zeal, 
and  the  movement  was  so  instantaneous  with  all,  that 
the  enemy  at  once  broke  and  fled  in  confusion,  leaving 
a  considerable  number  of  dead  and  wounded  on  the 


144  THE   LIFE   OF 

field.  They  were  pursued  a  considerable  distance. 
In  these  affairs  the  militia,  with  individual  exceptions, 
behaved  very  badly,  and  indeed  with  little  else  than 
cowardice.* 

Having  been  so  frequently  defeated  by  a  greatly 
inferior  force,  the  Indians  and  light  troops  were  re 
solved  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  garrison  from  Fort 
George,  already  in  sight,  and  amounting  to  nearly 
nine  hundred  strong,  under  general  Sheaffe.  Informa 
tion  was  at  the  same  time  brought  to  Colonel  Scott  that 
no  aid  was  to  be  expected  from  Lewistown.  General 
Van  Rensselaer  had  done  everything  in  his  power  to 
induce  the  militia  to  go  to  the  assistance  of  their  gal 
lant  countrymen  on  the  other  side.  But  the  sight  of 
General  Sheaffe's  reinforcement  excited  in  their  minds 
jtbe  liveliest  constitutional  scruples.  Nothing  could 
induce  them  to  relinquish  their  constitutional  rights 
by  setting  their  feet  on  foreign  soil.  The  sight  of 
their  countrymen  being  cut  down,  one  after  another, 
for  want  of  the  aid  they  had  the  power  to  give  them, 
had  no  other  influence  than  to  strengthen  their  deter 
mination  not  to  hazard  their  own  lives. 

It  was  now  discovered  that  retreat  was  as  impos 
sible  as  succor  was  hopeless,  as  the  boats  were  all  on 
the  American  side.  The  gallant  Scott,  therefore,  and 
his  brave  little  army,  resolved  to  receive  the  enemy 
on  the  ground  they  occupied,  and  that  if  any  of  them 
survived  it  would  be  time  enough  to  surrender.  The 
British  general  approached  to  the  attack  with  great 
*  Frost's  Book  of  the  Army. 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  145 

caution,  finding  that  such  an  enemy  as  he  had  to  meet 
were  not  to  be  easily  subdued,  even  by  a  force  three 
times  as  large.  He  feared,  too,  that  the  small  body 
he  saw  in  view  of  American  troops  were  only  a  small 
part  of  the  army  he  had  to  encounter,  and  designed 
to  decoy  him  to  his  ruin.  At  length,  however,  the 
conflict  commenced.  The  action  was  sharp,  bloody 
and  desperate,  and  continued  for  nearly  half  an  hour. 
The  Americans  being  nearly  surrounded  on  every 
side,  and  finding  longer  resistance  against*  such  fearful 
odds  little  else  than  madness,  surrendered  prisoners 
of  war. 

Through  this  whole  engagement,  in  each  of  the 
fierce  contests  with  the  enemy,  Colonel  Scott  fought 
with  desperate  bravery,  though  he  acted  with  the 
coolness  and  discretion  of  a  veteran.  He  exposed 
his  person  in  the  most  fearless  manner  in  every  quar 
ter  where  the  fire  was  the  thickest  and  the  danger 
the  greatest.  Being  in  full  uniform,  his  remarkably 
tall  and  commanding  person  was  observable  towering 
far  above  all  others,  and  was  singled  out  as  a  mark 
by  the  enemy's  sharp  shooters.  He  was  advised  by  a 
brother  officer  to  throw  aside  his  uniform,  or  cover  it 
so  as  to  escape  observation.  "No,"  said  he,  smiling, 
"  I  will  die  in  my  robes."  Captain  Lawrence  fell  by 
his  side,  dangerously  wounded,  immediately  after. 
When  the  action  was  over  and  the  Americans  had 
surrendered  themselves  prisoners  of  war,  an  Indian 
came  up  to  Colonel  Scott,  and,  attentively  surveying 
him,  said,  "  Sair,  you  are  not  born  to  be  shot — so 
13 


146  THE   LIFE   OF 

many  times — (holding  up  all  the  fingers  of  both  hands, 
to  indicate  ten) — so  many  times  have  I  leveled  and 
fired  my  rifle  at  you."  From  Queenstown  Colonel 
Scott  was  sent  to  Quebec.  In  about  a  month  after 
he  embarked  for  Boston,  and  was  exchanged  in  the 
following  January. 

In  the  engagement  the  Americans,  especially  the 
regulars  who  were  actually  in  the  battle,  acted  with  a 
gallantry  that  reflected  the  highest  credit  on  them 
selves  and  on  their  country.  But  for  the  cowardice 
of  the  militia  in  refusing  to  cross  the  river,  the  result 
would  have  been  quite  different.  The  most  of  them 
who  did  participate  in  the  action  behaved  with  great 
coolness  and  bravery.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  in 
the  battle  was  believed  to  be  full  one  thousand  in 
killed,  wounded  and  prisoners.  The  loss  of  the  Brit 
ish  is  not  known,  though  it  must  have  been  very  con 
siderable,  as  they  were  twice  repulsed. 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  Queenstown,  General  Van 
Rensselaer  resigned  his  commission,  and  General 
Smith  was  appointed  to  succeed  him  in  his  command. 
Another  invasion  was  projected  by  General  Smith, 
and  great  promises  made  to  the  "men  of  New  York." 
If  they  would  come  to  his  standard  in  his  contem 
plated  invasion  of  Canada,  they  were  assured  that  they 
should  have  an  opportunity  not  only  to  cover  them 
selves  with  glory  and  renown,  but  of  retrieving  the 
tarnished  honor  of  the  country,  which  he  believed  to 
have  been  very  seriously  wounded  by  the  previous 
failure  under  his  predecessor.  After  a  large  number 


WILLIAM   HENRY    HARRISON.  147 

of  volunteers  had  been  collected  by  these  bright 
visions  of  fame  and  fortune,  and  the  most  imposing 
preparations  made  for  the  conquest  of  Canada,  the 
troops  having  been  twice  actually  embarked  in  the 
boats  for  the  great  enterprise,  the  whole  magnificent 
expedition  was  suddenly  abandoned,  the  troops  or 
dered  to  be  withdrawn  from  the  boats  and  to  go  into 
winter  quarters.  This  enterprise,  terminating  thus 
unfortunately  to  the  country,  and  dishonorably  to  a 
portion  of  the  militia  and  to  General  Smith,  ended 
the  operations  of  the  "Army  of  the  Centre,"  as  the 
battle  of  Queenstown  begun  them,  to  the  equal  dis 
honor  of  another  portion  of  the  militia,  though  to  the 
everlasting  renown  of  Colonel  Scott  and  the  officers 
and  men  under  his  command.  Two  years  after,  the 
same  gallant  officer,  on  the  same  field  of  battle,  added 
new  laurels  to  his  own  fame,  and  did  much  to  wipe 
out  whatever  of  disgrace  to  their  country  there  was 
in  his  previous  defeat. 

While  many  of  our  operations  by  land  during  the 
first  campaign  brought  but  little  honor  and  less  ad 
vantage  to  the  nation,  our  naval  exploits  can  be 
pointed  to  with  pride  and  exultation  by  every  patri 
otic  American.  Our  victories  at  sea,  while  they  did 
much  to  inspire  confidence  and  hope  at  home  amongst 
ourselves,  also  did  more  to  humble  the  pride,  if  not 
to  destroy  the  confidence,  of  our  haughty  enemy,  in 
their  boasted  invincibility  in  what  they  claimed  as 
their  native  element.  The  capture  of  the  frigate 
"  Guerriere,"  one  of  the  finest  vessels  in  the  British 


1-18  THE    LIFE   OP 

navy,  by  the  "  Constitution,"  Commodore  Hall,  after 
an  action  of  only  thirty  minutes,  was  probably  the 
severest  blow  to  the  national  vanity  of  England  that 
she  had  ever  received,  either  on  land  or  by  sea.  It 
is  doubtful  whether  even  her  overwhelming  defeat  at 
New  Orleans,  at  a  subsequent  period,  produced  so 
deep  a  feeling  of  mortification  as  the  capture  of  one 
of  their  favorite  frigates.  This  was  more  particularly 
the  case,  as  the  "  Guerriere"  had  been  sent  out  to  re 
venge  the  insult  to  the  "Little  Belt."  This  action 
took  place  on  the  19th  of  September,  1812.  The 
"  Guerriere"  was  so  much  shattered,  that  a  few  broad 
sides  must  have  sunk  her,  and  it  was  impossible  to 
carry  her  into  port :  she  was  therefore  blown  up  the 
day  after  the  action.  Her  loss  was  fifteen  killed  and 
sixty- three  wounded ;  while  the  "  Constitution"  had 
only  seven  killed  and  seven  wounded.  The  joy  which 
this  brilliant  achievement  produced  throughout  the 
United  States  was  only  equalled  by  the  depression 
and  chagrin  produced  by  the  same  result  in  England.* 

*  The  following  account  of  the  capture  of  the  "  Guerriere, '; 
which  was  communicated  to  the  New  York  Evening  Post  by  an 
American  gentleman  who  was  a  prisoner  on  board  that  vessel  dur 
ing  the  action,  will  be  found  to  be  excitingly  interesting,  and  to 
deserve  a  place  amongst  the  historical  records  of  the  country :  — 

Having  been  an  American  prisoner  on  board  the  "  Guerriere," 
during  the  famous  battle  between  that  frigate  and  the  United 
States  frigate  "  Constitution,"  I  propose  giving  you  an  account  of 
that  important  action  which  took  place  in  June,  1812. 

About  two  weeks  previous  to  the  engagement,  I  left  Boston  in 
an  American  ship,  which  was  captured  by  the  "Guerriere"  some 
five  days  before  she  fell  in  with  the  "Constitution." 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  149 

Almost  immediately  after  this  victory  of  the  "  Con 
stitution,"  news  was  received  of  the  capture  of  the 

It  was  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  the  "  Constitu 
tion"  was  discovered.  The  "  Guerriere"  hove  to,  to  enable  her  to 
come  up.  As  the  "Constitution"  neared  us,  Captain  Dacres 
handed  me  his  glass,  and  asked  what  I  took  her  to  be.  My  reply 
was,  "She  looks  like  a  frigate."  Very  soon  she  came  within 
reach  of  the  long  guns  of  the  "  Guerriere,"  which  were  fired,  but 
with  no  effect,  as  the  sea  ran  high.  The  "  Constitution"  made  no 
reply,  but,  as  I  saw,  was  manoeuvring  for  a  position,  during  which 
Captain  Dacres  said  to  me,  "  Do  you  think  she  is  going  to  strike 
without  firing  ?  "  I  replied,  "  I  think  not,  Sir." 

At  this  moment,  seeing  a  severe  contest  was  about  commenc 
ing,  in  which  I  could  take  no  part,  being  only  a  prisoner,  I  raised 
my  hat  to  Captain  Dacres,  and  said  to  him — "  With  your  permis 
sion,  sir,  I  will  go  below,  as  I  can  take  no  part."  "  0  certainly," 
said  he,  "  and  you  had  better  go  into  the  cock-pit ;  and  should  any 
of  our  men  chance  to  get  wounded,  I  shall  feel  obliged  if  you  will 
assist  the  surgeons  in  dressing  them.  "  Certainly,  sir,"  said  I, 
and  then  descended  into  the  cock-pit.  There  were  the  surgeons, 
and  surgeons'  mates,  and  attendants,  sitting  round  a  long  table, 
covered  with  instruments  and  all  necessaries  for  dressing  the 
wounded,  as  still  as  a  funeral.  Within  one  moment  after  my  foot 
left  the  lower  round  of  the  ladder,  the  "  Constitution"  gave  that 
double  broadside,  which  threw  all  in  the  cock-pit  over  in  a  heap 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  ship. 

For  a  moment  it  appeared  as  if  heaven  and  earth  had  struck 
together ;  a  more  terrific  shock  cannot  be  imagined.  Before  those 
in  the  cock-pit  had  adjusted  themselves,  the  blood  run  down  from 
the  deck  as  freely  as  if  a  wash-tub  full  had  been  turned  over,  and 
instantly  the  dead,  wounded,  and  dying,  were  handed  down  as 
rapidly  as  men  could  pass  them,  till  the  cock-pit  was  filled,  with 
hardly  room  for  the  surgeons  to  work.  Midshipmen  were  handed 
down  with  one  leg,  some  with  one  arm,  and  others  wounded  in 
almost  every  shape  and  condition.  An  oflScer,  who  was  on  the 
table  having  his  arm  amputated,  would  sing  out  to  a  comrade 

13* 


150  THE    LIFE   OP 

British  sloop  of  war,  "Alert,"  by  Commodore  Porter, 
of  the  "  Essex."  Following  fast  upon  the  heels  of 

coming  down  wounded — "  Well,  shipmate,  how  goes  the  battle?" 
another  would  utter  some  joke,  that  would  make  even  the  dying 
smile ;  and  so  constant  and  freely  were  the  playful  remarks  from 
the  maimed  and  even  dying,  that  I  almost  doubted  my  own  senses. 
Indeed,  all  this  was  crowded  into  a  space  of  not  over  fifteen  or 
twenty  minutes  before  the  firing  ceased.  I  then  went  upon  deck, 
and  what  a  scene  was  presented,  and  how  changed  in  so  short  a 
time. 

The  "  Constitution"  looked  perfectly  fresh ;  and  even  at  this 
time,  those  on  board  the  "  Guerriere"  did  not  know  what  ship 
had  fought  them.  On  the  other  hand,  the  "Guerriere"  was  a 
mere  rolling  log,  almost  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the  sea.  Her 
colors  all  shot  away,  her  main-mast  and  mizen-mast  both  gone  by 
the  board,  and  her  fore-mast  standing  by  the  mere  honey-comb 
the  shot  had  made.  Captain  Dacres  stood,  with  his  officers,  sur 
veying  the  scene — all,  all  in  the  most  perfect  astonishment.  At 
this  moment,  a  boat  was  seen  putting  off  from  the  hostile  ship  for 
the  "  Guerriere."  As  soon  as  within  speaking  distance,  a  young 
gentleman  (Midshipman  Reed,  now  Commodore  "Reed)  hailed  and 
said — "  I  wish  to  see  the  officer  in  command  of  the  ship."  At  this, 
Captain  Dacres  stepped  forward,  and  answered.  Midshipman 
Reed  then  said — "  Commodore  Hull's  compliments,  and  wishes  to 
know  if  you  have  struck  your  flag?"  At  this,  Captain  Dacres 
appeared  amazed,  but  recovering  himself,  and  looking  up  and 
down,  he  deliberately  replied,  "  Well,  I  don't  know — our  mizzen- 
mast  is  gone,  our  main-mast  is  gone — and,  upon  the  whole,  you 
may  say  we  have  struck  our  flag  1 " 

"Commodore  Hull's  compliments,  and  wishes  to  know  if  you 
need  the  assistance  of  a  surgeon  or  surgeon's  mate?"  Captain 
Dacres  replied :  "  Well,  I  should  suppose  you  had  on  board  your 
own  ship  business  enough  for  all  your  medical  officers."  Midship 
man  Reed  replied,  "  0,  no,  we  have  only  seven  wounded,  and  they 
were  dressed  half  an  hour  ago." 

Captain  Dacres  then  turned  to  me,  deeply  affected,  and  said, 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  151 

this  victory,  followed  those  of  the  "  United  States" 
over  the  "Macedonian,"  and  of  the  "Wasp"  over 

"  How  have  our  situations  been  suddenly  reversed  ?  You  are  now 
free,  and  I  a  prisoner." 

All  the  boats  of  both  ships  were  now  put  in  requisition  to  re 
move  the  wounded  on  board  the  "  Constitution;"  so  dreadful  was 
the  condition  of  many  of  them  that  two  days  were  nearly  con 
sumed  in  the  removal,  after  which  the  "Guerriere"  was  burned, 
with  all  her  stores,  armament,  &e.  The  "  Constitution,"  having 
recently  come  out  of  port,  had  no  room  to  take  scarcely  an  article. 

Who  can  imagine  the  joy  I  experienced  in  finding  myself  again 
under  American  colors — or  the  pride  I  felt  at  finding,  from  Com 
modore  Hull  down  to  the  most  humble  man  on  board,  an  entire 
absence  of  everything  like  a  boastful  or  even  a  triumphant  look  at 
their  wonderful  victory.  Captain  Dacres  kept  his  state-room  till 
we  arrived  in  port.  About  two  hundred  of  his  men  were  neces 
sarily  ironed,  as  the  ship  was  so  crowded.  Charles  Morris  (now 
Commodore),  the  first  officer  of  the  "Constitution,"  had  a  ball 
through  his  body,  and  for  several  days  his  recovery  was  doubtful 
—during  which  he  sent  for  me  to  come  to  his  room ;  and  I  well 
remember  his  perfect  unconcern  for  himself,  although  the  surgeon 
had  apprised  him  of  his  danger.  Every  courtesy  and  kindness 
was  by  Captain  Hull  and  his  officers  extended  to  their  prisoners. 

On  Sunday,  abont  noon,  the  "  Constitution"  arrived  in  Boston 
harbor.  I  was  sent  on  shore  in  the  boat.  The  harbor  between 
the  ship  and  wharves  was  now  covered  with  boats  to  learn  the 
news.  To  the  first  boat  that  we  neared  we  hailed,  "  The  <  Consti 
tution'  has  captured  the  '  Guerriere.' "  Instantly,  the  two  men  in 
the  boat  took  off  their  hats,  and  violently  struck  them  on  the  side 
of  the  boat,  and  rising,  gave  cheer  upon  cheer.  They  hailed  other 
boats,  and  thus  the  air  was  rent  with  cheers,  and  the  victory 
passed  along  until  it  reached  the  wharf,  and  then  spread  like  wild 
fire  all  over  the  city  and  country. 

It  is  now  nearly  forty  years  since  the  transaction  of  that  day 
proved  to  the  Americans  that  British  frigates  were  not  invincible. 
Who  can  remember  that  day  without  feeling  a  glow  of  pride,  that 


152  THE   LIFE   OF 

the  British  brig  "Frolic,"  the  first  of  which  took 
place  on  the  25th  of  October,  and  the  other  on  the 
20th  of  the  same  month.  When  the  "  Frolic"  sur 
rendered,  she  had  but  four  of  her  crew  alive  on  deck. 
She  had  thirty-eight  killed  and  fifty  wounded.  On 
board  the  "Wasp"  there  were  but  five  killed  and  five 
wounded.  This  was  the  most  decisive  action  fought 
during  the  war,  and  was  more  fatal  to  the  enemy  in 
proportion  to  the  number  engaged.  On  board  the 
"Macedonian"  there  were  thirty-six  killed  and  sixty- 
eight  wounded,  while  the  "United  States"  lost  but 
five  in  killed  and  seven  wounded.  In  addition  to 
these  victories,  so  mortifying  to  British  arrogance, 
they  had  to  submit  to  another  quite  as  humiliating  to 
their  pride.  This  was  the  capture  of  the  British 
frigate  "Java"  by  the  "Constitution,"  Commodore 
Bainbridge,  on  the  29th  of  December.  The  "Java" 
carried  forty-nine  guns,  and  had  on  board,  when  cap 
tured,  four  hundred  soldiers  and  one  hundred  seamen, 
whom  she  was  carrying  out  to  the  East  Indies.  She 
had  on  board,  also,  despatches  of  an  important  char 
acter  for  St.  Helena,  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  for 
their  different  establishments  in  the  East  Indies  and 

BO  early  in  the  war,  and  in  a  manner  so  unpretending,  a  victory 
so  perfect  should  have  been  achieved !  I  write  this  statement 
•without  notes,  but  believe  it  to  be,  in  the  main,  accurate. 

In  justice  to  Captain  Dacres,  I  add,  that  there  was  none  of 
the  boasting  on  his  part,  before  the  action,  which  has  to  him  been 
attributed,  as  he  did  not  know  the  ship  till  Midshipman  Reed  an 
nounced  her  name  and  commander. 

0.  W. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRlSO^  153 

China,  besides  the  Governor  of  Bombay,  and  a  large 
number  of  officers,  civil,  military  and  naval.  The 
"Constitution"  had  nine  men  killed  and  twenty-five 
wounded.  The  killed  on  board  the  "Java"  were 
sixty,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  wounded.  The 
capture  of  the  "Java"  was  of  little  if  of  any  less  im 
portance  than  the  capture  of  the  "Guerriere,"  by  the 
same  ship.  The  conduct  of  all  the  officers  of  the 
"  Constitution"  towards  their  prisoners  was  as  remark 
able  for  its  humanity  and  courtesy  as  it  had  been 
during  the  action  for  courage  and  good  conduct,  and 
they  received  the  public  acknowledgments  of  the  Gov 
ernor  of  Bombay,  Lieutenant  General  Halsop,  upon 
their  arrival  at  St.  Salvador. 

The  exploits  of  some  of  the  American  privateers 
were  little  less  humiliating  to  British  pride,  and  grati 
fying  to  the  American  people,  than  those  of  our  legit 
imate  naval  ships.  One  of  the  first  to  sail  was  the 
"Atlas,"  commanded  by  Captain  Moffat,  who  on  the 
3rd  of  August  fell  in  with  two  armed  ships,  and,  after 
a  severe  action,  captured  them  both.  The  " Dolphin," 
Captain  Endicot,  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  cap 
tured  fifteen  ships  of  the  enemy,  but  had  the  mortifi 
cation  to  be  captured  herself  by  an  English  squadron. 
The  achievements  of  Commodore  Barney,  who  sailed 
from  Baltimore,  carried  destruction  throughout  the 
British  merchant  trade,  and  did  more  injury  to  her 
commerce  than  it  had  received  for  years  before  from 
French  cruisers.  These  repeated  disasters  carried 
consternation  throughout  the  British  nation,  as  our 


154  THE   LIFE   OF 

privateers  had  throughout  her  commerce.  Its  signi 
fication  was  more  terrible  to  England  than  the  defeat 
of  her  ships  of  war  or  the  ruin  to  her  trade,  for  it  told 
her  that  omnipotence  upon  the  seas  was  about  to  be 
destroyed. 


WILLIAM    HENRY  HARRISON,  155 


CHAPTER   IX. 

IT  has  already  been  stated  that,  after  the  termina 
tion  of  the  campaign,  General  Harrison  had  gone  to 
Cincinnati  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  a  reinforce 
ment  from  that  State  and  Kentucky.  Early  in  the 
spring,  while  prosecuting  this  object,  he  received  in 
formation  that  the  British  were  making  extensive 
preparations  and  concentrating  a  large  force  of  regu 
lar  soldiers,  Canadians  and  Indians,  for  the  purpose 
of  laying  siege  to  Fort  Meigs.  In  consequence  of 
this  intelligence,  he  immediately  returned  to  that  post 
and  commenced  the  most  energetic  and  judicious  ar 
rangements  to  be  prepared  for  the  threatened  attack. 

As  the  new  levies  had  not  arrived,  the  Pennsylva 
nia  brigade,  although  its  term  of  service  had  expired, 
generously  volunteered  for  the  defence  of  Fort  Meigs. 
His  arrival  had  inspired  the  troops  with  fresh  confi 
dence,  and  strong  hopes  were  rekindled  in  all  hearts 
that  an  opportunity  would  soon  be  presented  them, 
not  only  of  avenging  their  murdered  countrymen  at 
the  River  Raisin,  but  vindicating  the  honor  and  es 
tablishing  the  supremacy  of  the  American  arms. 

Fort  Meigs  was  situated  on  a  rising  ground,  a  few 


156  THE   LIFE   OF 

hundred  yards  from  the  river,  on  both  sides  of  which 
the  country  was  chiefly  natural  meadows.*  The  gar 
rison  was  amply  supplied  with  the  means  of  defence, 
and  Harrison  labored  night  and  day  to  improve  its 
capacity  for  resisting  the  anticipated  attack.  With 
the  assistance  of  Captains  Wood  and  Gratiot,  his 
principal  engineers,  his  fortifications  were  so  improved 
and  strengthened,  that  he  felt  confident  of  being  able 
successfully  to  resist  any  force  that  could  be  brought 
against  him.  The  troops  in  the  fort  were  in  excellent 
spirits,  and  determined  to  defend  themselves  to  the 
last. 

On  the  28th  of  April,  one  of  the  parties  of  obser 
vation,  that  was  constantly  kept  out  for  the  purpose  of 
discovering  the  advance  of  the  enemy,  returned  with 
information  that  the  enemy  were  in  great  force  only 
about  three  miles  distant.  Shortly  after  a  few  Brit 
ish  and  Indians  made  their  appearance  on  the  oppo 
site  side  of  the  river,  but  a  few  shots  from  an  eighteen 
pounder  soon  compelled  them  to  disperse. 

General  Harrison  now  determined  to  dispatch  an 
express  to  General  Clay,  commanding  the  Kentucky 
reinforcements,  amounting  to  twelve  hundred  militia, 
to  hasten  his  march.  For  the  discharge  of  this  dan 
gerous  and  responsible  duty,  requiring  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  country  and  great  intrepidity  and 
firmness,  he  selected  Captain  William  Oliver.  These 
qualities  he  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree.  He  was 
accompanied  by  one  Indian  and  one  white  man,  and 
*  Braokenridge. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  157 

performed  the  hazardous  duty  assigned  him  with  sig 
nal  success,  having  found  him  at  Fort  Winchester, 
and  urged  upon  him  the  importance  of  forwarding  the 
reinforcement  with  all  possible  dispatch. 

For  three  days  after  the  enemy  was  first  discov 
ered  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort,  he  was  occupied  in  se 
lecting  a  suitable  position  for  erecting  his  batteries, 
from  whence  he  might  the  more  successfully  annoy  it. 
Their  labors  were  greatly  impeded,  however,  by  the 
brisk  fire  that  was  kept  up  upon  them  by  General 
Harrison  during  the  day.  On  the  first  of  May  they 
had  succeeded  in  mounting  their  batteries,  and  they  im 
mediately  commenced  a  heavy  fire  upon  the  fort  from 
several  of  their  guns.  No  material  injury,  however, 
was  done  on  either  side,  though  General  Harrison  made 
a  narrow  escape,  a  ball  having  struck  a  bench  on 
which  he  was  sitting.  On  the  following  morning,  af 
ter  the  fort  had  been  fully  invested,  the  commander- 
in-chief  issued  a  general  order  to  his  troops,  appealing 
to  their  patriotism  in  the  most  eloquent  terms.  He 
closed  by  saying, — "  Can  the  citizens  of  a  free  coun 
try,  who  have  taken  up  arms  to  defend  its  rights, 
think  of  submitting  to  an  army  composed  of  merce 
nary  soldiers,  reluctant  Canadians,  goaded  to  the 
field  by  the  bayonet,  and  of  wretched  naked  savages  ? 
Can  the  breast  of  an  American  soldier,  when  he  casts 
his  eyes  to  the  opposite  shore,  the  scene  of  his  coun 
try's  triumphs  over  the  savage  foe,  be  influenced  by 
any  other  feelings  than  those  of  glory  ?  Is  not  this 
army  composed  of  the  same  materials  with  that  which 
14 


158  THE   LIFE    OF 

fought  and  conquered  under  the  immortal  Wayne? 
Yes,  fellow-soldiers,  your  general  sees  your  counten 
ances  beam  with  the  same  fire  that  he  witnessed  on 
that  glorious  occasion;  and  although  it  would  be  the 
height  of  presumption  to  compare  himself  to  that 
hero,  he  boasts  of  being  that  hero's  pupil.  To  your 
posts,  then,  fellow-soldiers,  and  remember  that  the 
eyes  of  your  country  are  upon  you." 

By  the  time  the  enemy  were  prepared  to  open  their 
batteries  upon  the  fort,  the  American  troops  had  com 
pleted  a  grand  tower,  about  twelve  feet  high,  upon  a 
base  of  twenty  feet,  three  hundred  yards  long,  on  the 
most  elevated  ground,  through  the  middle  of  the  camp, 
calculated  to  ward  off  the  shot  from  the  enemy's  bat. 
teries.  Orders  were  given  for  all  the  tents  in  front 
to  be  instantly  moved  into  the  rear,  which  was  effected 
in  a  few  moments.  The  enemy's  efforts,  therefore,  to 
bombard  and  cannonade  the  American  lines  was  en 
tirely  thwarted,  and  all  their  immense  labor  in  erect 
ing  their  batteries  was  rendered  useless.  The  em 
bankment  of  earth  behind  which  our  troops  now  re 
tired  entirely  obscured  the  whole  army,  while  it  served 
as  a  perfect  protection  against  the  British  fire.  Not 
a  tent  nor  a  soldier  was  to  be  seen ;  but,  notwith 
standing  the  futility  of  the  attempt,  Proctor  still  kept 
up  a  tremendous  fire  upon  the  fort,  and  continued  it 
for  five  days,  at  great  expense  of  powder  and  ball, 
but  little  injury  to  the  American  troops,  only  one  man 
being  killed  and  four  wounded  during  the  whole  time. 

On  the  3rd  of  May,  Proctor  sent  a  flag  to  the  fort 


WILLIAM  HENRY   HARRISON.  159 

by  Major  Chambers,  and  very  coolly  summoned  Gen 
eral  Harrison  to  surrender.  Chambers  assured  him 
that  the  great  anxiety  of  the  British  commander,  in 
thus  summoning  him  to  surrender,  was  to  spare  the 
effusion  of  human  blood !  and  that  his  force  was  so 
numerous,  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  withstand  it. 
He  also  assured  him  that,  unless  the  Americans  at 
once  surrendered  at  discretion,  and  throw  themselves 
upon  the  tender  mercies  of  the  author  of  the  but 
cheries  at  the  River  Raisin,  they  might  expect  to  be 
indiscriminately  massacred  in  cold  blood. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  from  the  character 
for  courage  and  gallantry  which  General  Harrison 
had  acquired  and  so  well  sustained,  this  insolent  sum 
mons  was  treated  with  the  contempt  anything  from 
the  infamous  Proctor  so  well  deserved.  He,  as  well 
as  every  officer  and  soldier  under  his  command,  pre 
ferred  instant  death  to  the  ignominy  of  surrendering 
to  such  a  monster,  even  if  they  had  any  faith  in  his 
promises  of  protection.  But  they  had  none.  He 
had  already  forfeited  his  honor,  as  well  as  all 
claims  to  the  respect  of  mankind,  for  his  infamous 
barbarities.  To  look  for  mercy  at  the  hands  of  a 
man  who  had  thus  outraged  every  principle  of  truth 
and  every  feeling  of  humanity,  required  a  degree  of 
credulity  that  his  conduct  had  not  inspired  in  General 
Harrison. 

He  expressed  his  surprise  at  the  demand,  espe 
cially  under  the  circumstances  in  which  it  was  made, 
looking  upon  it  as  an  intentional  insult  on  the  part  of 


160  THE   LIFE   OF 

Proctor.  This,  however,  Major  Chambers  disclaimed 
in  behalf  of  the  British  commander,  but  intimated  to 
him  at  the  same  time  that  he  was  in  sufficient  force  to 
compel  his  demand.  To  this  General  Harrison  re 
plied,  that  he  believed  he  had  very  correct  informa 
tion  as  to  Proctor's  force,  and  that  it  was  not  such  as 
to  create  the  least  apprehension  for  the  result  of  the 
contest,  whatever  shape  he  might  thereafter  be  pleased 
to  give  to  it.  He  desired  Major  Chambers  to  assure 
him,  however,  that  the  fort  would  never  be  sur 
rendered  to  him,  and  that  should  it  fall  into  his  hands, 
it  would  be  in  a  manner  calculated  to  do  him  more 
honor  and  to  give  him  a  larger  claim  upon  the  grati 
tude  of  his  government  than  any  capitulation  could 
possibly  do. 

Finding  how  little  he  had  to  hope,  either  from  his 
threats  or  from  the  force  of  his  arms,  the  siege  was 
renewed  with  redoubled  vigor,  and  the  firing  was 
kept  up  on  both  sides  with  great  energy.  The  savages 
even  mounted  into  the  tops  of  trees  with  the  object 
of  firing  down  into  the  fort,  and  by  this  means  suc 
ceeded  in  killing  and  wounding  several  men.  General 
Harrison  now  began  to  feel  the  most  anxious  solici 
tude  to  receive  intelligence  of  the  approach  of  Gen 
eral  Clay,  to  whom,  it  will  be  recollected,  he  had 
some  days  before  dispatched  a  special  express  for  the 
purpose  of  urging  him  to  forward  the  Kentucky  vol 
unteers  with  all  possible  speed.  But  his  anxiety  was 
soon  to  be  relieved,  for  late  in  the  night  of  the  4th 
9f  May,  a  small  party  under  Major  Trimble  and  Cap- 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  161 

tain  Oliver,  reached  the  fort,  with  the  gratifying  in 
formation  that  General  Clay  was  but  a  few  miles 
above  the  Rapids,  with  a  considerable  reinforcement. 

Immediately  upon  receiving  this  intelligence,  Gen 
eral  Harrison  dispatched  orders  to  him,  requesting 
him  to  detach  eight  hundred  men  for  the  purpose  of 
landing  on  the  other  side  and  attacking  the  enemy's 
batteries.  In  the  meantime,  he  embraced  the  favora 
ble  opportunity  given  by  the  timely  arrival  of  Gen 
eral  Clay's  reinforcements,  for  completing  the  ar 
rangements  for  a  sortie  he  had  planned  some  time 
before.  The  sortie  was  designed  to  be  made  upon  the 
side  of  the  fort  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Miller,  of  the  nineteenth  United  States  infantry, 
simultaneously  with  the  attack  to  be  made  upon  the 
enemy's  batteries  by  the  detachment  under  Colonel 
Dudley,  from  General  Clay's  reinforcement.  The  at 
tack  was  admirably  planned,  and  should  it  prove  suc 
cessful,  the  enemy  would  be  compelled  to  raise  the 
siege  immediately.  The  duty  assigned  to  Colonel  Dud 
ley  was  executed  with  ability,  and  he  landed  his  men  in 
good  order.  He  then  advanced  at  once  to  the  enemy's 
cannon,  and  with  such  determined  bravery,  that  four 
of  their  batteries  were  carried  almost  instantly,  and 
the  British  regulars  and  Indians  were  at  once  put  to 
flight. 

The   victory   of   Colonel   Dudley  seemed   to   be 
complete  and  decisive;  but  it  was  soon  turned  into  a 
defeat.     A  large  body  of  Indians,  under  the  cele 
brated  Tecumthe,  were  on  their  route  to  the  British 
14* 


162  THE   LIFE   OP 

camp,  when  they  met  the  fugitives  whom  Dudley  had 
so  signally  beaten.  This  body  was  immediately  or 
dered  to  form  an  ambush,  and  to  await  the  approach 
of  the  Americans,  while  a  few  Indians  were  to  act  as 
decoys.  After  having  executed  his  orders,  Colonel 
Dudley  ordered  a  retreat ;  but  his  men,  flushed  with 
victory,  and  desirous  of  avenging  their  murdered  fel 
low-soldiers  at  Frenchtown,  pushed  on  in  pursuit  of 
the  flying  foe  with  an  impetuosity  that  nothing  could 
resist.  Their  commander  attempted  in  vain  to  check 
their  headlong  career,  and  even  threatened  them  with 
summary  punishment,  but  without  effect,  and  in  a  few 
moments  they  found  themselves  drawn  into  the  snare 
that  had  been  set  for  them,  surrounded  by  a  force 
three  times  their  number.  A  dreadful  battle  now  en 
sued,  in  which  the  Kentuckians  fought  with  their 
usual  desperate  courage;  but  they  were  fighting 
against  tremendous  odds,  both  in  numbers  and  posi 
tion,  and  were  finally  slaughtered,  with  the  exception 
of  one  hundred  ,and  fifty,  who  succeeded  in  making 
their  escape.  Colonel  Dudley,  in  attempting  to  cut 
his  way  through  the  enemy  to  the  river,  was  killed, 
having  fought  with  great  gallantry  throughout  the 
bloody  engagements.* 

The  misfortune  that  befel  Colonel  Dudley  in  some 
measure  disconcerted  the  plan  of  the  sortie  under 
Colonel  Miller,  though  it  did  not  deter  him  from  sal 
lying  forth  at  the  head  of  three  hundred  men  and  as 
saulting  the  whole  of  the  British  works,  manned  by 
*  Brackenridge. 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  163 

three  hundred  and  fifty  regulars  and  five  hundred  In 
dians.  In  this  attack,  which  was  made  with  an  im 
petuosity  that  overcame  every  obstacle,  he  drove  the 
enemy  from  their  principal  batteries,  spiked  their  can 
non,  and  returned  to  the  fort  with  forty-two  prison 
ers.  When  the  great  disparity  of  force  between  the 
Americans  and  British,  and  the  advantageous  posi 
tion  of  the  enemy  are  considered,  the  sortie  of  Colonel 
Miller  must  be  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  most  suc 
cessful  and  gallant  actions  of  the  whole  war.  Every 
man  fought  with  the  courage  of  a  hero,  and  indeed 
every  man  made  himself  a  hero  by  his  noble  con 
duct. 

The  attack  was  commenced  against  the  Canadians 
and  Indians  by  Major  Alexander's  battalion,  and  was 
followed  by  Colonel  Miller  in  a  gallant  and  irresisti 
ble  charge  against  the  British  regulars.  Amongst 
the  officers  in  these  two  attacks  were  Captains  Crog- 
han,  Langham,  Bradford  and  Waring,  and  Lieuten 
ants  Gwynne  and  Campbell.  A  company  of  Ken- 
tuckians,  commanded  by  Captain  Lebree,  who  had 
distinguished  himself  at  Frenchtown,  won  new  honors 
by  their  brave  conduct  in  this  gallant  action.* 

Though  Colonel  Dudley  was  finally  defeated  by 
being  drawn  into  an  ambush,  the  complete  success  of 
his  attack  upon  the  British  batteries,  and  Colonel 
Miller's  equally  successful  sortie,  had  taught  Proctor 
a  profitable  lesson,  and  proved  to  him  that,  in  any 
thing  like  an  equal  contest,  the  Americans  were  more 
*  Brackenridge. 


164  THE   LIFE   OF 

than  a  match  for  his  blood-thirsty  allies  and  his  almost 
equally  ferocious  regulars.  He  was  therefore  quite 
willing  for  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  which  took  place 
for  the  three  days  following  the  sortie.  Flags  fre 
quently  passed  between  the  besiegers  and  the  besieged 
during  this  temporary  calm,  and  arrangements  were 
entered  into  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners.  Tecum- 
the  agreed  to  release  his  claims  to  the  persons  taken 
by  the  Indians,  provided  some  Wyandots,  to  the  num 
ber  of  forty,  were  delivered  up.  Proctor  also  pro 
mised  to  furnish  a  list  of  the  killed,  wounded  and 
prisoners;  but  he  again  forfeited  his  word;  the  pro 
mise  was  never  fulfilled.* 

Thus  terminated  this  siege  at  the  end  of  thirteen 
days.  It  had  not  only  reflected  honor  on  General 
Harrison  and  his  brave  little  army,  and  the  Ameri 
can  character,  but  convinced  the  butcher  Proctor  that, 
whatever  victims  he  might  thenceforth  procure  to  feed 
his  own  and  the  appetites  of  his  savage  auxiliaries 
upon,  he  must  fight  for,  and  that  they  would  be  dearly 
purchased.  His  speedy  retreat  from  Fort  Meigs,  af 
ter  all  his  vaunted  parade  and  impudent  threats,  were 
as  disgraceful  to  his  generalship,  and  as  mortifying 
to  his  vanity,  as  his  previous  butcheries  of  defenceless 
men  and  his  want  of  truth  were  dishonorable  to  him 
as  a  soldier  and  a  gentleman. 

The  loss  of  the  Americans  in  the  fort  was  eighty- 
one  killed  and  one  hundred  and  eighty-nine  wounded, 
seventy  of  whom  were  Kentucky  volunteers.     This 
*  Brackenridge. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  165 

does  not  include  the  killed  and  wounded  under  Colonel 
Dudley.  The  force  under  Proctor  was  reported  at  five 
hundred  and  fifty  regulars,  eight  hundred  militia,  and 
fifteen  hundred  Indians, — the  latter  of  whom  fought 
with  great  courage,  frequently  saving  their  allies  from 
total  destruction. 

After  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  the  savages  re 
turned  to  their  homes,  in  accordance  with  an  almost 
universal  custom,  and  in  spite  of  all  the  influence  Te- 
cumthe  could  exert.  Proctor  was  so  much  weakened 
by  this  defection  of  his  allies,  that  he  was  compelled 
precipitately  to  retreat,  and  to  leave  behind  him,  in 
his  haste  to  make  his  escape,  many  valuable  articles. 

In  reflecting  upon  the  siege  of  Fort  Meigs,  a  ju 
dicious  writer  *  expresses  the  opinion  that  it  was  for 
tunate  for  the  American  cause  that  the  enterprise  of 
General  Proctor  against  that  fort  was  delayed  so 
long.  Had  he  been  ready  to  sail  as  soon  as  the  lake 
became  navigable,  and  so  timed  his  movements  as  to 
arrive  at  tne  fort  during  the  first  week  in  April,  im 
mediately  after  the  last  militia  of  the  winter  campaign 
had  been  discharged,  and  before  General  Harrison 
arrived  with  reinforcements,  he '  must  have  succeeded 
against  that  post.  The  garrison  was  then  left  very 
weak,  being  considerably  less  than  five  hundred  effec 
tive  men.  The  works,  too,  were  then  very  incomplete, 
and  entirely  too  large  for  that  of  soldiers  successfully 
to  defend,  as  the  fortified  camp  included  seven  or 
eight  acres  of  land. 

*  M'Afee. 


166  THE   LIFE    OP 

The  capture  of  Fort  Meigs  would  have  been  a 
most  serious  loss  to  the  country,  as  it  contained  nearly 
all  the  artillery  and  military  stores  of  the  north 
western  army,  besides  a  large  amount  of  provisions. 
General  Harrison  repeatedly  pressed  upon  the  atten 
tion  of  the  government,  during  the  winter,  the  neces 
sity  of  preparing  a  force  to  take  the  place  of  the 
militia  then  in  service.  But  instead  of  this,  the  new 
Secretary  of  War,  John  Armstrong,  who  had  been 
appointed  to  that  office  the  preceding  February,  in 
place  of  Willkim  Eustis,  at  the  critical  moment  when 
the  last  of  those  troops  were  disbanded,  restricted 
General  Harrison  to  the  use  of  regulars,  which  were 
still  to  be  levied  in  a  country  where  it  was  almost  im 
possible  to  raise  a  regiment  of  regulars  through  the 
whole  year.  Without  the  aid  of  the  Ohio  and  Ken 
tucky  militia,  which  the  general  called  into  service 
without  the  authority  and  contrary  to  the  views  of  the 
War  Department,  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  im 
portant  post  at  the  Rapids  would  have  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  Proctor,  and  the  bloody  scenes  of  French- 
town  been  re-enacted. 


WILLIAM   HENRY    HARRISON.  167 


CHAPTER    X. 

WITH  the  raising  of  the  siege  of  Fort  Meigs  were 
suspended  offensive  operations  on  both  sides  for  a  con 
siderable  time.  The  troops  were  to  remain  at  that 
post  and  Upper  Sandusky  until  the  completion  of  the 
naval  preparations  on  Lake  Erie,  whichwere  then  in 
a  considerable  state  of  forwardness.  Without  the 
command  of  that  lake,  little  of  consequence  could  be 
accomplished,  and  any  attempt  either  to  recover  De 
troit  or  subdue  Maiden,  objects  which  General  Har 
rison  as  well  as  the  government  had  much  at  heart, 
would  be  worse  than  useless,  while  it  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  enemy.  The  troops,  therefore,  must  necessarily 
remain  in  a  state  of  inactivity  a  great  part  of  the 
summer,  awaiting  the  completion  of  the  fleet  designed 
to  co-operate  with  the  army  in  those  favorite  ob 
jects. 

While  awaiting  this  event,  therefore,  General 
Harrison  returned  to  Franklington  for  the  purpose 
of  organizing  the  forces  which  were  to  be  concen 
trated  at  that  place.  In  the  course  of  the  summer, 
deputies  from  the  various  Indian  tribes  residing  in 


1G8  THE   LIFE   OP 

Ohio,  and  from  some  of  those  in  the  territories  of  In 
diana  and  Illinois,  waited  upon  him  at  Franklington, 
and  volunteered  their  services  for  the  campaign  into 
Canada.  It  had  been  the  general  policy  of  the  gov 
ernment  not  to  employ  any  of  the  friendly  Indians  in 
the  service  of  the  United  States.  The  only  exception  to 
this  human  policy  was  in  employing  a  small  body  under 
the  command  of  the  celebrated  Logan,  a  nephew  of  Te- 
cumthe.  But  the  advice  to  them  to  remain  neutral 
could  not  be  comprehended,  as  they  looked  upon  it 
as  an  indirect  imputation  upon  their  courage.  Gen 
eral  Harrison  finally  consented  to  receive  them  into 
his  service,  but  only  upon  the  condition  that  they 
should  spare  their  prisoners,  and  not  make  war  upon 
defenceless  women  and  children. 

He  informed  Tarke,  the  oldest  Indian  in  the 
western  country,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  deputa 
tion,  that  he  would  be  able  to  judge  by  the  conduct  of 
the  Indians  who  might  enter  his  service,  whether  the 
British  could  restrain  those  in  their  army  from  the 
horrible  cruelty  they  had  perpetrated.  If  the  In 
dians  under  him  would  forbear  such  conduct,  it  would 
satisfy  him  that  Proctor  could  also  restrain  them  if  he 
wished  to  do  so.  He  humorously  told  the  deputation 
that  he  had  been  informed  that  Proctor  had  promised 
to  deliver  him  into  the  hands  of  Tecumthe,  if  he  had 
succeeded  at  Fort  Meigs,  to  be  treated  as  that  war 
rior  might  think  proper.  As  a  fair  offset  to  this  lib 
eral  offer,  he  promised  them  that,  if  Proctor  should 
fall  into  his  hands,  they  should  have  him  as  their 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  169 

prisoner,  on  condition  that  they  would  agree  to  treat 
him  as  a  squaw,  and  put  petticoats  on  him,  for  he 
must  be  a  coward,  deserving  only  such  treatment, 
who  would  kill  a  defenceless  prisoner.* 

There  is  little  doubt  that  the  promise  to  deliver 
General  Harrison,  and  all  who  fought  at  Tippecanoe, 
over  to  Tecumthe,  if  the  attack  on  Fort  Meigs  should 
prove  successful,  with  the  understanding  that  they 
were  to  be  burned  at  the  stake,  was  true.  Major 
Ball  ascertained  this  fact  from  the  prisoners,  desert- 
ters  and  Indians,  all  of  whom  agree  as  to  its  truth ; 
and  besides,  it  is  sustained  by  the  previous  conduct 
and  well-established  character  of  Proctor,  though  in 
consistent  with  the  conduct  of  Tecumthe  after  the 
treaty  of  Vincennes.f 

Though  the  failure  of  the  expedition  against  Fort 
Meigs,  and  the  consequent  dispersion  of  many  of  the 
British  allies,  had  to  a  considerable  extent  checked 
the  depredations  of  the  savages  upon  the  more  thickly 
inhabited  parts  of  the  country,  they  still  continued  to 
a.ttack  the  settlements  along  the  borders  of  the  lake 
from  Frenchtown  to  Erie.  Their  inroads,  however, 
received  a  temporary  check  from  a  squadron  of  horse 
under  Major  Ball,  a  braye  and  valuable  officer.  As 
he  was  descending  the  Sandusky  with  only  twenty- 
two  men,  he  was  fired  upon  by  about  the  same  num 
ber  of  savages,  from  an  ambuscade.  He  promptly 
charged  upon  them,  drove  them  from  their  hiding 
places,  and  after  an  obstinate  contest,  in  which  both 

*  Sketches  of  Harrison.  •}•  Dawson. 

15     <*v 


170  THE   LIFE   OF 

parties  fought  with  great  courage,  the  Indians  were 
defeated,  and  the  whole  band  killed  to  a  man.  The 
Indians  fought  with  the  ferocity  of  despair,  but  discip 
line  prevailed  over  their  savage  desperation. 

A  hasty  glance  at  the  operations  of  the  northern 
army  under  General  Dearborne.  The  British  Gov 
ernment  during  the  past  winter  had  made  extensive 
preparations  for  the  defense  of  Canada,  and  had  sent 
a  large  number  of  troops  to  Halifax,  for  the  purpose 
of  being  employed  in  that  object.  Great  care  and 
energy  had  also  been  used  in  disciplining  the  militia  of 
Canada  for  the  same  purpose,  while  little  had  been 
done  on  the  American  side  toward  the  conquest  of 
that  Province.  In  consequence  of  the  unpopularity 
of  the  war  in  the  northern  part  of  the  union,  it  was 
difficult  to  prevail  on  the  States  to  call  out  the  militia. 
The  favorable  moment  for  the  conquest  of  Canada, 
therefore,  seemed  to  have  passed,  though  the  hope 
was  still  indulged  that  something  might  still  be 
done,  if  a  proper  spirit  could  be  roused  in  the  north 
ern  States,  especially  if  the  command  of  the  lakes 
could  be  obtained ;  there  was  no  doubt  entertained 
that  the  whole  of  Upper  Canada,  at  least,  must  fall. 

Several  acts  of  hostility  took  place,  also,  during 
the  winter  on  the  northern  frontier.  In  February, 
a  small  party  of  British  passed  over  from  Canada,  os 
tensibly  in  search  of  deserters,  during  which  they  com 
mitted  many  wanton  depredations  upon  the  houses 
and  property  of  American  citizens.  Determined  to 
avenge  these  injuries,  Major  Forsyth,  who  commanded 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  171 

at  Ogdensburgh,  took  part  of  a  company  of  riflemen, 
with  several  volunteers,  and  entered  Canada  with  such 
celerity  that  he  surprised  the  British  general  at  Eliz- 
abethtown,  took  fifty-two  prisoners  and  a  considerable 
amount  of  public  property,  after  which  he  returned  to 
Ogdensburgh  without  the  loss  of  a  man.  Shortly  af 
ter  this  exploit,  on  the  21st  of  February,  the  British 
made  an  attack  upon  Ogdensburgh,  with  a  force  of 
twelve  hundred  men,  and  succeeded  with  the  vastly 
superior  force  in  expelling  Major  Forsyth  from  the 
town,  but  not  until  after  a  sharp  contest,  in  which  the 
Americans  lost  twenty  men  in  killed  and  wounded, 
and  the  enemy  twice  that  number. 

It  was  determined  by  the  commander-in-chief  to 
make  a  descent  upon  Canada,  by  such  a  force  as  should 
at  least  make  itself  felt.  For  this  purpose  General 
Zebulon  Pike,  one  of  the  most  accomplished  officers 
and  bravest  men  in  the  army,  and  a  gentleman  who 
was  as  highly  beloved  by  the  soldiers  for  his  noble 
qualities  of  heart  as  he  was  respected  and  honored 
for  his  bravery  and  accomplishments,  was  selected  for 
this  responsible  enterprise.  After  a  conference  be 
tween  the  commander  and  chief,  it  was  determined 
that  the  contemplated  expedition  should  be  directed 
against  York  in  Upper  Canada.  The  fleet  under 
Commodore  Chauncey  was  ordered  to  co-operate  with 
General  Dearborne,  in  his  plans  of  whatever  charac 
ter.  On  the  27th  of  April  he  landed  his  troops,  destin 
ed  for  the  attack  about  two  miles  from  York,  in  spite  of 
the  most  obstinate  efforts  of  the  British  and  Indians 


172  THE   LIFE   OF 

to  prevent  him.  Having  succeeded  in  landing  all  his 
troops,  in  the  midst  of  a  destructive  fire,  he  gallantly 
charged  the  enemy  and  drove  them  all  from  their  po 
sitions  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  They  then  fled 
to  the  fort  in  all  speed. 

He  at  once  formed  his  lines  and  commenced  the 
attack,  carrying  several  of  the  batteries  and  driving 
the  enemy  within  the  garrison.  Suspecting  that  some 
stratagem  was  designed  from  the  fact  that  the  British 
appeared  to  have  deserted  their  barracks,  he  dis 
patched  Lieutenant  Riddle  to  learn  the  situation  of 
the  enemy.  While  waiting  the  return  of  Riddle  he 
seated  himself  upon  the  stump  of  a  tree,  after  having 
humanely  removed  a  wounded  British  soldier  to  a 
place  of  security,  when  suddenly  an  explosion  took 
place  that  shook  the  very  earth.  The  magazine  had 
blown  up,  and  instantly  the  air  was  filled  with  huge 
stones  and  fragments  of  wood  which  were  rent  asun 
der  and  whirled  aloft  with  tremendous  force.  The 
magazine  contained  five  hundred  barrels  of  powder. 
This  was  the  treacherous  and  cowardly  stratagem 
General  Pike  had  feared,  but  the  precise  nature  of 
which  he  could  not  have  foreseen. 

Immense  quantities  of  these  broken  and  blackened 
fragments  fell  amongst  the  victorious  columns  of  the 
Americans,  causing  a  havoc  which  the  arms  of  the 
enemy  could  not  effect  in  a  fair  and  honorable  con 
test.  Upwards  of  two  hundred  Americans  were  thus 
killed  and  wounded  in  a  manner  scarcely  more  credit 
able  or  less  barbarous  than  the  Frenchtown  massa- 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  173 

ere.  Amongst  the  number  slain  was  the  beloved  and 
heroic  Pike.  But  though  for  a  moment  confounded 
by  the  shock  and  the  dreadful  havoc  in  their  ranks,  the 
brave  troops  almost  instantly  rallied,  closing  up  their 
broken  columns  and  giving,  in  their  turn,  three  loud 
cheers.  General  Pike,  though  mortally  wounded, 
preserved  his  undaunted  spirit.  With  his  last  breath 
he  addressed  them  in  words  of  cheerful  confidence. 
"Move  on,"  he  exclaimed,  "my  brave  fellows,  and 
avenge  your  general."  The  appeal  was  instantly 
obeyed,  and  with  such  irresistible  impetuosity  and 
gallantry  as  to  overwhelm  their  treacherous  foes,  and 
soon  the  British  flag  was  presented  to  Pike.  At  four 
o'clock  the  Americans  were  in  possession  of  the  town ; 
and  all  the  troops  of  the  garrison,  regulars  and  mili 
tia,  naval  officers  and  seamen,  were  surrendered  pris- 
oners  of  war.  All  the  public  stores  were  given  up, 
but  private  property  and  the  rights  of  the  citizens 
were  strictly  respected. 

The  American  loss,  until  the  blowing  up  of  the 
magazine,  was  inconsiderable.  By  this  characteristic 
act  of  base  treachery  and  cowardice,  the  number  was 
increased  to  three  hundred  in  killed  and  wounded. 
About  three  hundred  British  surrendered  prisoners  of 
war,  besides  the  killed  and  wounded.  But,  as  might 
have  been  expected  from  the  treachery  displayed  by 
the  British  general  in  attempting  to  blow  up  the 
whole  American  force,  the  terms  of  the  stipulation 
were  not  faithfully  observed,  for  a  large  amount  of 
public  property  was  destroyed  after  the  capitulation. 
15* 


174  THE    LIFE   OP 

The  next  enterprise  of  importance  was  an  attack 
upon  Fort  George  and  Fort  Erie.  Both  these  forts 
were  captured,  and  all  the  British  fortifications  along 
the  shore  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans  on  the 
27th  of  May.  In  these  operations  Colonel  Scott, 
now  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  of  the  United 
States,  and  then  an  accomplished  officer,  distinguish 
ed  himself,  as  he  had  the  year  before  at  Queenstown, 
as  did  also  General  Boyd.  Commodore  Chauncey, 
who  commanded  our  little  navy  on  the  lake,  co-ope 
rated  with  the  land  forces  and  added  greatly  to  the 
success  of  the  American  arms.  Commodore  Oliver 
H.  Perry  also  signalized  himself  in  these  various 
movements.  The  day  after  the  battle,  Lieutenant 
Perry  was  dispatched  to  Black  Rock  with  fifty  men 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  five  vessels  to  Erie,  and  to 
prepare  the  squadron  at  that  place  for  commencing 
operations,  in  conjunction  with  General  Harrison,  as 
early  as  the  15th  of  June. 

A  few  days  after  the  battle  of  Forts  George  and 
Erie,  the  battle  of  Stoney  Creek  was  fought.  Though 
this  action  resulted  in  the  accidental  capture  of  both 
General  Chandler  and  General  Winder,  two  Ameri 
can  officers  of  distinction  and  acknowledged  bravery, 
they  were  nevertheless  beaten  in  the  action,  with 
great  loss.  Their  killed  and  wounded  amounted  to 
more  thar  double  that  of  the  Americans,  besides  one 
hundred  prisoners  captured  by  the  Americans.  But 
these  movements  of  General  Dearborne  against  the 
British  fortifications  on  the  Niagara  had  well  nigh 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  175 

cost  the  Americans  dear.  Taking  advantage  of  the 
absence  of  the  troops  and  fleet,  the  British  made  an 
attack  upon  Sacket's  Harbor,  the  depository  of  all 
our  naval  and  military  stores,  both  those  captured  at 
York  and  those  accumulated  for  a  year  past  for  the 
contemplated  operations  against  Canada,  and  a  place, 
therefore,  of  the  utmost  importance.  The  attack,  how 
ever,  proved  unsuccessful,  through  the  judgment  and 
well-managed  stratagem  of  General  Brown.  As  usual, 
Sir  George  Provost,  who  commanded  the  attack,  boast 
fully  claimed  a  victory  after  his  return  to  Canada. 

The  next  enterprise  of  the  British  was  a  predato 
ry  incursion  to  the  village  of  Sodus,  principally  with 
the  view  of  destroying  some  stores  that  had  been  de 
posited  there.  But  their  stores  being  concealed  in  the 
woods  upon  their  approach,  and  exasperated  at  their 
disappointment,  they  set  fire  to  the  most  valuable 
part  of  the  village,  and  continued  their  devastations 
until  they  were  compelled  precipitately  to  retreat. 
Shortly  after  this,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Berstler  was 
defeated  in  an  attempt  to  dislodge  the  enemy  from 
La  Couse's  house,  about  seventeen  miles  from  Fort 
George.  After  having  been  attacked  by  a  greatly 
superior  force,  while  in  the  execution  of  this  object,  he 
and  his  whole  party  were  compelled  to  surrender.* 

The  British,  having  been  greatly  reinforced  a  few 

days   after,  invested   the   American   camp.     During 

the  remainder  of  this  and  the  ensuing  month  a  war 

of  posts  was  kept  up  between  the  two  armies.     On 

*  Brackenridge. 


176  THE    LIFE   OP 

the  8th  of  July  a  severe  skirmish  took  place,  in  which 
nearly  the  whole  force  on  both  sides  was  engaged ; 
but  it  ended  in  no  important  result.  The  British, 
however,  succeeded  in  capturing  Lieutenant  Eldridge, 
an  accomplished  young  officer,  and  ten  men,  who  were 
never  afterwards  heard  of.  They  were  undoubtedly 
handed  over  to  the  savages,  and  by  them  inhumanly 
murdered.  Three  days  after  they  attacked  Black 
Rock,  but  were  compelled  to  betake  themselves  to 
their  boats,  in  great  haste,  almost  immediately  after 
landing.  On  the  28th  of  July,  Colonel  Winfield  Scott 
undertook  another  expedition  against  York,  which  had 
been  recaptured  by  the  British.  He  landed  suddenly 
at  the  head  of  three  hundred  men,  destroyed  the  pub 
lic  stores,  released  a  number  of  prisoners,  and  re 
turned  to  Sacket's  Harbor,  with  but  a  trifling  loss. 

The  enemy's  ambition  seem  to  have  been  quite 
satisfied  by  this  kind  of  warfare,  during  June  and 
July,  and  they  pursued  it  with  a  zest  which  showed 
that  their  hearts  were  in  the  cause.  They  continued 
their  war  upon  such  peaceable  citizens,  and  their  out 
rages  upon  such  private  property,  as  they  could  reach 
without  too  much  exposure.  They  laid  waste  the 
country  along  the  borders  of  Lake  Champlain.  All 
the  public  buildings  at  Plattsburgh  were  wantonly 
burnt,  and  a  large  amount  of  private  property  car 
ried.  Similar  outrages  were  also  committed  at  Swan- 
ton,  in  Vermont.  On  the  lakes,  little  of  importance 
to  either  side  was  accomplished  during  these  months. 
Commodore  Chauncey  attempted  to  bring  Sir  James 


WILLIAM   HENRY   HARRISON.  177 

Yeo  to  an  engagement  on  Lake  Ontario,  but  without 
success. 

At  the  South,  in  the  meantime,  the  enemy  had 
prosecuted  the  war  with  even  less  of  the  usages  of 
civilized  nations  than  at  the  North ;  cruelty  and  de 
struction  marked  their  course.  Sometime  in  Febru 
ary,  an  attack  was  made  upon  Lewistown,  on  the 
Delaware,  by  Commodore  Beresford;  but  the  town 
making  a  gallant  resistance,  he  was  compelled  to 
abandon  the  enterprise.  But,  on  the  Chesapeake, 
they  were  more  successful.  It  was  here  that  the  no 
torious  Cockburn,  who  commanded  the  British  block 
ading  squadron,  acquired  the  reputation  which  has 
rendered  his  name  infamous  throughout  the  world, 
and  given  him  a  standing,  in  the  eyes  of  all  civilized 
countries,  second  only  to  that  of  Proctor.  This  mis* 
erable  creature  commenced  operations  as  a  rear-admi- 
ral  in  the  British  navy,  by  attacking  and  robbing 
detached  farm-houses,  wantonly  slaughtering  cattle 
that  he  could  carry  off,  and  by  arming  slaves  against 
their  masters.  Emboldened  by  his  success  in  robbing 
hen-roosts,  and  decoying  women  and  children,  he  next 
turned  his  attention  to  objects  offering  richer  plunder. 

His  first  achievement  on  a  large  scale  was  against 
the  village  of  Frenchtown,  containing  six  dwelling- 
houses,  two  storehouses,  and  a  few  stables,  which  he 
gallantly  captured,  carrying  off  as  usual  a  consider 
able  amount  of  private  property  stored  there.  This 
exploit  was  followed  by  the  still  bolder  one  of  burn 
ing  Havre  de  Grace,  a  village  of  thirty  houses,  situ 


178  THE  LIFE   OP 

ated  on  the  Susquehanna.  Amongst  other  acts  of 
bravery,  during  the  burning  of  this  town,  they  offered 
the  grossest  insults  to  the  women,  tearing  their  clothes 
from  their  backs,  and  subjecting  them  to  almost  every 
outrage.  Having  stolen  all  the  private  property  that 
had  been  spared  from  the  flames,  and  laying  waste 
the  country  for  miles  around,  they  suspended  the 
work  of  destruction  for  the  work  of  something  else 
to  destroy.  Following  these  victories  over  unarmed 
citizens  and  defenceless  women  and  children,  was  the 
destruction  of  Georgetown  and  Frederickton,  Mary 
land,  both  of  which  were  plundered  of  everything 
valuable  before  being  burned.  Not  long  after  these 
achievements,  so  honorable  to  the  British  arms,  and 
so  much  in  keeping  with  the  chivalry  and  humanity 
of  British  officers,  their  fleet  was  greatly  increased 
by  the  arrival  of  Admiral  Warren  from  the  West 
Indies. 

It  was  soon  ascertained  that  the  first  formidable 
enterprise  of  the  English,  after  the  reinforcement  of 
their  fleet,  was  an  attack  upon  Norfolk.  But  before 
this  could  be  successfully  undertaken,  it  was  necessary 
to  subdue  the  forts  by  which  it  was  protected.  Cra-  , 
ney  Island  was  the  first  of  these,  and  it  was  attacked 
with  great  fury  on  the  22nd  of  May ;  but  they  were 
repulsed  with  loss,  several  of  their  boats  sunk,  and 
their  whole  force  compelled  to  make  a  precipitate  re 
treat.  To  revenge  themselves,  however,  for  this  de 
feat,  they  proceeded  to  pillage  the  town  of  Hampton, 
about  eighteen  miles  from  Norfolk ;  but  they  met  with 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  179 

a  warm  reception,  and,  but  for  the  immense  superi 
ority  of  force,  would  have  been  defeated.  After  they 
had  got  possession  of  the  town,  the  most  shocking 
outrages  were  committed  upon  the  inhabitants.  Full 
license  was  given  the  soldiers  to  gratify  their  passions ; 
and  such  acts  of  brutality  and  blood-thirsty  cruelty 
were  perpetrated  as  never  before  disgraced  the  sol 
diers  of  any  civilized  nation. 

Having  satiated  his  thirst  for  blood  and  plunder, 
or  rather  having  exhausted  the  means  of  gratifying 
it  on  the  Chesapeake,  the  hen-roost  robbing  admiral 
proceeded  farther  south  in  search  of  new  objects  to 
display  his  gallantry  upon.  He  commenced  his  ca 
reer  there  by  various  depredations  in  North  Carolina, 
quite  as  honorable  as  those  by  which  he  had  already 
distinguished  himself. 

Though  all  the  legitimate  evils  of  war  were  expe 
rienced  north  of  the  Chesapeake,  none  of  the  bar 
barities  which  disgraced  Cockburn's  career  were  per 
petrated.  Nor,  indeed,  were  there  any  very  important 
movements  or  exploits  of  any  kind  on  the  northern 
coast.  An  attempt  of  considerable  pretension  was 
made  upon  New  London,  or  rather  an  attempt  was 
threatened,  but  the  place  was  so  well  fortified  that  it 
was  abandoned. 

While  these  events  were  transpiring, — events  that 
were,  in  the  main,  as  dishonorable  to  the  British  name 
as  they  were  annoying  to  the  Americans, — our  gallant 
little  navy  had  been  running  a  career  of  glory  that 
filled  the  breast  of  every  American  with  pride,  and 


180  THE  LIFE   OF 

the  hearts  of  our  enemies  with  mortification.  One  of 
the  most  brilliant  of  this  series  of  victories  was  the 
capture  of  the  "Peacock,"  Captain  Peake,  by  the 
"  Hornet,"  Captain  Lawrence,  on  the  23rd  of  Febru 
ary,  1812.  The  "Peacock"  was  of  somewhat  supe 
rior  force  to  the  "  Hornet."  The  action  only  lasted 
fifteen  minutes,  during  which  the  enemy  was  literally 
cut  to  pieces,  and  went  down  before  her  crew  could 
be  rescued  by  the  utmost  efforts  of  Captain  Lawrence 
and  his  crew. 

This  brilliant  victory,  however,  was  more  than 
counterbalanced  by  the  capture  of  the  "  Chesapeake," 
commanded  by  the  victor  of  the  "  Peacock,"  by  the 
British  frigate  "Shannon,"  on  the  21st  of  June  fol 
lowing.  This  calamity  was  owing,  not  to  the  want 
of  courage  and  good  conduct  in  Captain  Lawrence, 
but  must  be  attributed  to  the  character  of  his  crew, 
most  of  whom  had  but  just  been  enlisted.  Many  of 
his  officers  were  also  sick ;  and,  worse  than  all,  seve 
ral  foreigners  had  crept  into  the  ship's  crew,  who  had 
succeeded  in  poisoning  their  minds.  This  victory 
made  the  British  nation  almost  wild  with  joy,  as  it 
seemed  to  afford  them  some  hope  that  the  American 
navy  was  not  quite  invincible,  a  fact  about  which  they 
were  beginning  to  have  their  doubts.  This  hope  was 
considerably  strengthened  by  the  capture  of  the  "Ar 
gus,"  after  having  for  two  months  committed  great 
havoc  upon  the  shipping  of  the  enemy  in  the  English 
channel. 

On  the  5th  of  September,  these  misfortunes  were 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  181 

partly  compensated  by  the  brilliant  victory  of  the 
American  brig  "Enterprise,"  Lieutenant  Command 
ant  William  Burrows,  over  the  British  frigate  "  Box 
er,"  of  superior  force.  But  this  victory  was  pur 
chased  with  the  life  of  the  brave  Burrows,  the  only 
man  killed  on  board  the  "Enterprize."  The  com 
mander  of  the  Boxer  was  also  killed.  On  the  26th 
of  the  same  month,  Commodore  Rogers  returned  after 
a  most  successful  cruise  of  five  months,  having  cap 
tured  a  large  number  of  British  merchant  vessels, 
and  the  British  war  schooner,  "  Highflier,"  a  tender 
to  Admiral  Warren.  The  "  Congress,"  Captain 
Smith,  which  put  to  sea  with  the  "  President,"  re 
turned  on  the  12th  of  December,  having  also  captured 
a  large  number  of  the  enemy's  vessels  and  two  armed 
brigs. 

Besides  these  brilliant  achievements, — for  even 
the  actions  in  which  the  "  Chesapeake"  and  "Argus" 
were  captured  added  to  our  naval  renown, — on  the 
part  of  our  vessels  of  war,  the  American  private 
cruisers  rendered  valuable  service  to  the  country, 
and  aided  to  convince  our  proud  and  powerful  enemy 
that  America  would,  at  no  distant  day,  dispute  the 
claim  of  Great  Britain  to  mistress  of  the  sea.  In 
the  engagement  between  the  "  Comet"  and  a  Portu 
guese  brig  and  three  armed  merchantmen,  Captain 
Boyle,  the  commander  of  the  "  Comet,"  after  fighting 
them  all  for  several  hours,  compelled  the  brig,  though 
double  his  own  force,  to  make  her  escape,  and  cap 
tured  one  of  the  merchantmen.  Little  less  brillijm 
16 


182  THE  LIFE   OF 

was  the  action  between  the  privateer  "Decatur"  and 
the  British  vessel  of  war  "Dominica,"  in  which  the 
latter  was  captured,  after  a  hard  contest.  Many 
other  actions  equally  honorable  to  our  brave  seamen, 
and  equally  beneficial  to  the  American  cause,  we 
fought  during  the  summer,  and  immense  damage  was 
done  to  British  commerce. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   flARBlBOW. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

HAVING  thus  given  a  very  meagre  glance  at  some 
of  the  leading  events  transpiring  at  the  North,  along 
the  Atlantic  course,  and  on  the  ocean,  during  this 
second  year  of  the  war,  the  history  of  operations 
with  which  General  Harrison  was  more  immediately 
connected  will  be  resumed.  In  these  occurrences, 
important  preparations  were  being  made  by  him  at 
the  West.  Public  attention  was  directed  to  that 
quarter  with  great  anxiety,  and  the  northern  army 
remained  almost  with  folded  arms,  awaiting  the  cam 
paign  upon  which  he  was  about  to  enter,  and  of  the 
daily  anticipated  contest  for  the  command  of  Lake 
Erie.  The  British  labored  with  equal  diligence  to 
strengthen  themselves,  fully  alive  as  they  were  to  the 
fatal  consequences  of  defeat  either  on  the  lake  or  by 
land.  Troops  were  therefore  constantly  arriving  to 
reinforce  Proctor's  army,  and  to  enable  him  to  follow 
up  any  advantage  that  might  be  obtained  over  our 
fleet.* 

On  the  other  hand,  the  people  of  Ohio  and  Ken- 
*  Brackenridge  raising  reinforcements  and  organizing. 


184  THE    LIFE  OF 

tucky  were  making  the  most  patriotic  sacrifices  in 
seconding  the  efforts  of  General  Harrison.  One  uni 
versal  feeling  of  excitement  prevailed  amongst  the 
people ;  and  had  the  exigencies  of  the  country  re 
quired  it,  every  man  capable  of  bearing  arms  would 
cheerfully  have  marched  to  her  defence  at  whatever 
sacrifice.  Fifteen  thousand  men, — three  times  the 
number  required, — promptly  responded  to  the  call  of 
the  patriotic  Governor  Meigs  of  Ohio  ;  and  the  noble- 
hearted  Shelby,  Governor  of  Kentucky,  declared  his 
intention  of  putting  himself  at  the  head  of  the  volun 
teers  of  that  State,  whose  number  he  limited  to  four 
thousand,  with  the  determination  of  avenging  their 
murdered  friends  and  brothers. 

General  Harrison,  who,  it  will  be  recollected,  was 
left  at  Franklinton  with  his  army  for  active  opera 
tions,  received  information  in  June  that  Fort  Meigs 
was  again  invested.  But  this  proved  to  be  a  false 
alarm ;  and,  after  satisfying  himself  that  the  enemy 
had  no  such  immediate  intention,  he  returned  to 
Lower  Sandusky.  From  that  place,  he  set  off  for 
Cleveland,  on  business  connected  with  the  publio 
stores  accumulated  there,  and  to  hasten  the  COM 
pletion  of  boats  designed  for  transporting  the  army 
across  the  lake.  On  the  23rd  of  July,  a  body  of 
eight  hundred  Indians  passed  Fort  Meigs,  and  it  watf 
supposed  they  contemplated  an  attack  upon  Fort  Win 
chester.  Two  days  afterwards,  a  large  body  of  In 
dians  and  British,  amounting  to  not  less  than  fiv6 
thousand  men,  mostly  Indians,  passed  in  the  same 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON  185 

direction.     This  was  the  largest  army  of  Indians  ever 
assembled  on  any  occasion  during  the  army. 

General  Harrison,  however,  came  to  the  conclu 
sion  that  this  movement  against  Fort  Meigs  was  de 
signed  to  divert  his  attention  from  Lower  Sandusky, 
the  real  object  of  attack.  The  result  proved  the  re 
markable  accuracy  of  his  judgment.  He  immediately 
removed  his  head  quarters  to  Seneca,  nine  miles  above 
that  place.  He  could  thus  fall  back  upon  Upper  San- 
dusky,  should  circumstances  render  it  necessary,  and 
move  to  the  relief  of  Fort  Meigs,  as  these  two  points 
were  of  far  more  importance  than  Lower  Sandusky. 
Major  George  Croghan,  with  one  hundred  and  sixty 
regulars,  was  left  at  the  latter  place  for  the  defence 
of  Fort  Stephenson.  The  number  of  troops  at 
Seneca  amounted  to  only  six  hundred,  a  force  entirely 
too  small  to  advance  upon  Fort  Meigs.  Captain  Me 
Cune  was  sent  back  to  General  Clay,  then  in  com~ 
mand  of  that  post,  with  information  that,  as  early  as 
the  commander-in-chief  could  collect  a  sufficient  num 
ber  of  troops,  he  would  relieve  that  fort.  But  the 
day  after  the  return  of  the  express,  the  enemy  raised 
the  siege,  and,  as  had  been  foreseen  by  General  Har 
rison,  the  British  sailed  round  into  Sandusky  Bay, 
while  the  Indians  marched  across  the  country  to  aid 
in  the  attack  upon  Lower  Sandusky,  now  satisfactorily 
ascertained  to  be  the  real  object  against  which  their 
efforts  were  to  be  directed.* 

On  the  21st  of  April  of  this  year,  General  Har- 
*  Sketches  of  General  Harrison. 

16* 


186  THE   LIFE   OP 

rison  had  written  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  advising  him 
that  he  should  cause  the  movements  of  the  enemy  to  be 
narrowly  watched ;  but  that  in  the  event  of  his  land 
ing  at  Lower  Sandusky  it  could  not,  in  his  opinion, 
be  saved,  and  he  should  cause  it  to  be  evacuated  and 
the  arms  there  removed.  Shortly  before  the  express 
from  Fort  Meigs  reached  General  Harrison,  he,  in 
company  with  Major  Croghan  and  other  officers,  had 
examined  Fort  Stephenson,  and  come  to  the  conclu 
sion  that  it  could  not  be  defended  against  heavy  artil 
lery,  and  that  it  then  must  be  abandoned  and  burnt, 
provided  a  retreat  could  be  safely  effected.  In  the 
orders  given  Major  Croghan,  he  was  immediately  to 
retreat  in  case  he  could  discover  the  approach  of  the 
enemy  with  cannon,  in  season  to  do  so,  and  to  destroy 
all  the  public  stores.  It  was  suggested  that  the  at 
tempt  to  retreat  in  the  face  of  an  Indian  force  would 
be  vain,  and  that  against  such  an  enemy,  however 
great,  the  garrison  would  be  safe. 

Immediately  upon  information  being  received  by 
the  commander-in-chief,  a  council  of  war  was  held, 
composed  of  McArthur,  Cass,  Bull,  Wood,  Holmes, 
Hukill,  Paul,  and  Graham,  who  were  unanimously  of 
opinion  that  Fort  Stephenson  was  untenable  against 
heavy  artillery,  and  that  the  garrison  should  be  with 
drawn  and  the  place  destroyed,  upon  the  approach  of 
the  enemy.  An  order  was  therefore  forthwith  sent  to 
him,  requiring  him  at  once  to  abandon  the  fort,  set 
fire  to  it,  and  repair  with  his  command  to  head  quar 
ters.  This  order  did  not  reach  Major  Croghan  until 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  187 

the  next  day,  the  30th  of  July.  By  this  time  he  was 
of  opinion  that  he  would  not  retreat  with  safety,  as 
the  Indians  had  surrounded  the  fort  in  considerable 
numbers. 

In  this  opinion  a  majority  qf  his  officers  concurred. 
They  were  equally  decided  in  the  opinion  that  the 
fort  would  be  maintained,  at  any  rate,  until  further 
instructions  could  be  received  from  head  quarters. 
Major  Croghan  therefore  promptly  acknowledged  the 
receipt  of  this  order,  informing  the  commander-in- 
chief  that  it  had  been  received  too  late  to  make  good 
his  retreat,  and  then  laconically  adding,  "we  have 
determined  to  maintain  this  place ;  by  heavens,  we 
can  ! "  Not  understanding  the  motives  which  induced 
this  apparent  disobedience  of  orders,  nor  the  consid 
erations  which  prompted  the  use  of  such  strong  lan 
guage, — the  fear  it  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy, — next  morning  sent  General  Wells,  under  the 
escort  of  Colonel  Ball  and  a  detachment  of  dragoons 
to  relieve  Major  Croghan  of  his  ordering  him  to  re 
pair  to  head  quarters.  On  his  arrival  there,  he  ex 
plained  his  motives  to  the  satisfaction  of  General 
Harrison,  and  was  immediately  after  directed  to  re 
sume  his  post,  and  fully  authorized  to  defend  the  fort 
to  the  last. 

The  next  day  it  was  supposed  that  the  British  were 
within  twenty  miles  of  Fort  Stephenson,  approaching 
theplace  by  water.  It  was  not  till  after  twelve  o'clock 
on  the  1st  of  August,  when  the  scouts  that  had  been 
sent  out  by  General  Harrison  communicated  this  in- 


188  THE   LIFE    OP 

formation  to  Major  Croghan.  In  a  few  hours  after, 
the  fort  was  actually  invested  by  the  British  and  In 
dians.  The  force  of  the  enemy  amounted  to  five 
hundred  regulars  and  seven  hundred  Indians,  under 
the  command  of  the  despicable  General  Proctor. 
After  he  had  made  such  a  disposition  of  his  troops 
as  rendered  it  impossible  for  the  garrison  to  escape, 
he  sent  a  flag  of  truce  by  Colonel  Elliot  and  Major 
Chambers,  demanding  the  surrender  of  the  fort,  ac 
companied  with  the  usual  threat  of  butchery  and 
massacre  of  the  garrison  should  it  persist  in  hold 
ing  out. 

Major  Croghan,  finding  that  all  his  companions — 
who,  like  himself,  were  mere  striplings — would  sup 
port  him  to  the  last,  declined  the  summons,  assuring 
the  bearers  that  "  when  the  garrison  surrendered, 
there  would  be  none  left  to  massacre,  as  it  would  not 
be  given  up  while  there  was  a  man  able  to  fight." 
When  the  flag  returned,  bearing  this  Spartan-spirited 
reply,  a  brisk  fire  was  opened  from  six-pounders  in 
their  boats,  and  from  a  howitzer,  which  was  kept  up 
during  the  night.  The  next  morning  it  was  discov 
ered  that  three  sixes  had  been  planted,  under  cover  of 
the  darkness,  within  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of 
the  pickets,  which  shortly  after  commenced  firing, 
with  little  effect.  About  four  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon,  the  enemy  having  concentrated  his  fire  against 
the  north-west  angle  of  the  fort,  with  the  intention 
of  making  a  breach,  it  was  immediately  strengthened 
by  means  of  bags  of  flour  and  sand.  At  the  same 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  189 

time,  the  six-pounder,  the  only  piece  of  artillery  in 
the  fort,  was  carefully  concealed  in  the  bastion  which 
covered  the  point  to  be  assailed,  and  loaded  with  slugs 
and  grape  shot. 

About  five  hundred  of  the  enemy  now  advanced  to 
attack  the  part  where  it  was  supposed  the  pickets  had 
been  injured,  at  the  same  time  making  several  feints 
to  draw  the  attention  of  the  besieged  from  the  real 
point  to  be  assailed.  Their  force  being  thus  disposed, 
a  column  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  men,  who  were 
so  completely  enveloped  in  a  density  of  smoke  as  not 
to  be  seen  until  they  approached  within  twenty  paces 
of  the  lines,  advanced  rapidly  to  the  assault.  A  fire 
of  musketry  from  the  fort  threw  them  for  a  moment 
into  confusion;  but  they  were  quickly  rallied  by 
Colonel  Short,  who  sprung  over  the  outer  works  into 
the  ditch,  and  commanded  them  to  follow,  character 
istically  exclaiming,  "  Give  the  d d  Yankees  no 

quarter."  Scarcely  had  the  profane  and  inhuman 
order  been  uttered,  when  the  six-pounder  opened  upon 
them  a  most  destructive  fire,  killing  their  barbarous 
leader  and  twenty  others,  and  wounding  as  many 
more.  A  volley  of  musketry  was  discharged  upon 
the  assailants  with  fatal  effect. 

The  officer  who  succeeded  Colonel  Short  in  the 
command,  exasperated  at  meeting  such  opposite  re 
sistance  from  a  parcel  of  boys,  formed  the  broken 
columns  anew,  and  again  rushed  to  the  onset  with  re 
doubled  fury.  The  six-pounder  was  again  played 
upon  them  with  the  same  terrible  success  as  before, 


190 


THE    LIFE   OP 


and  the  volleys  from  the  musketry  were  poured  in 
upon  them  in  such  rapid  succession,  and  with  such 
unerring  certainty,  that  they  were  once  more  thrown 
into  confusion,  and,  in  spite  of  the  exertion  of  their 
officers,  fled  to  an  adjoining  wood  with  even  more 
speed  than  they  had,  but  a  few  moments  before,  ex 
ercised  to  gain,  as  they  thought,  so  easy  and  so  cer 
tain  prey.  Their  savage  allies  immediately  followed 
them,  and  shortly  after  the  assailants  abandoned  the 
attack  in  despair.  Panic  struck,  they  retreated  to 
their  boats  in  sullen  silence,  scarcely  daring  to  cast 
their  eyes  towards  the  spot  where  so  many  of  their 
companions  had  found  a  bloody  grave,  and  where  they 
had  met  with  so  ignominious  a  defeat  from  an  enemy 
they  held  in  so  much  contempt,  and  scarcely  one- 
tenth  their  own  number.* 

Glorious  as  was  the  conduct  of  the  heroic  Crog- 
han  and  his  brave  companions  in  this  gallant  defence 
of  a  post  decided  by  a  council  of  war  to  be  fenceless, 
it  reflects  scarcely  more  honor  on  the  noble  little 
band  than  their  treatment  towards  their  wounded 
enemies  who  had  been  left  at  their  mercy  by  the 
British  in  their  flight.  Regardless  of  the  fact  that 
they  were  doomed  to  an  indiscriminate  massacre  had 
they  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Proctor's  butchers,  and 
of  every  other  consideration  save  the  impulses  of 
their  own  noble  souls,  they  directed  their  whole 
efforts  to  relieving  the  sufferings  of  their  wounded 
foes.  Provisions  and  water  were  handed  over  the 
*  Brackenridge. 


WILLIAM   HENRY   HARRISON.  191 

pickets  to  them  during  the  night;  and  although  a 
firing  was  still  kept  up  upon  them,  an  opening  was 
made,  and  many  of  them  were  removed  within  the 
fort  where  they  were  immediately  supplied  with  sur 
gical  aid  and  every  kindness  and  attention  within  the 
power  of  the  victors  siiown  them.  The  fabled  eastern 
prince,  who  offered  the  hand  of  bis  daughter  to  the 
man  who  would  do  the  noblest  and  most  disinterested 
act,  would  have  awarded  the  prize  to  Croghan,  had 
he  lived  in  that  age.  No  fairer  wreath  can  adorn  the 
brow  of  a  soldier  than  such  conduct,  under  such  cir 
cumstances.  It  was  not  so  much  that  the  objects  of 
his  humane  treatment  were  his  own  and  his  compan 
ion's  chosen  and  willing  executions,  as  that  they  were 
the  perpetrators  of  the  Frenchtown  massacre,  that 
renders  this  act  of  magnanimity  so  truly  noble. 

In  this  brilliant  defense,  the  Americans'  loss 
amounted  to  one  killed  and  seven  wounded.  The 
enemy  lost  one  hundred  and  fifty  in  killed  and 
wounded,  more  than  one-third  of  whom  was  killed. 
Upwards  of  fifty  were  found  in  and  about  the  ditch 
after  the  enemy  had  fled.  The  next  morning  it  was 
discovered  that  the  enemy  had  retreated,  and  with  so 
much  precipitation  that  they  left  behind  them  one 
boat,  a  considerable  quantity  of  military  stores,  and 
upwards  of  seventy  stands  of  arms.  During  the  day, 
the  Americans  were  engaged  in  burying  their  dead, 
with  the  honors  of  war,  and  in  providing  for  their 
\vounded. 

This  achievement,  so  honorable  in  every  respect  to 


1^2  THE   LIFE    OP 

the  gallant  defenders  of  Fort  Stephenson,  or  Fort  San- 
dusky,  called  forth,  as  it  deserved,  the  admiration  of 
the  whole  American  people.  Major  Croghan,  together 
with  Captain  Hunter,  Lieutenants  Johnson  and  Baylor, 
and  Ensigns  Shipp  and  Duncan  (the  latter  afterwards 
governor  of  Illinois),  of  the  seventeenth  regiment,  as 
well  as  several  other  officers  and  volunteers,  were 
highly  complimented  by  General  Harrison.  They 
also,  afterwards,  received  the  thanks  of  Congress. 
Major  Croghan  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel,  and  was  presented  with  an  elegant 
sword  by  the  patriotic  ladies  of  Chillicothe.  In  Gen 
eral  Harrison's  official  report  of  this  brilliant  affair, 
he  said :  "It  will  not  be  among  the  least  of  General 
Proctor's  mortifications  to  find  that  he  has  been  baf 
fled  by  a  youth  who  has  just  passed  his  twenty-first 
year.  He  is,  however,  a  hero  worthy  of  his  gallant 
uncle,  George  R.  Clark."  * 

When  General  Harrison  was  informed  of  the  at 
tack  upon  Fort  Stephenson,  he  hesitated,  very  natu 
rally,  before  going  to  its  relief.  He  was  hourly 
expecting  considerable  reinforcements,  but  had  not 
then  a  disposable  force  of  more  than  eight  hundred 
men,  one-fifth  of  whom  was  cavalry,  who  would  have 
been  of  little  service  in  the  thick  woods  between 
Seneca  and  Lower  Sandusky.  The  remainder  of  this 
force  was  raw  recruits,  upon  whom  he  did  not  con 
sider  it  safe  to  rely  in  such  an  emergency.  He  feared 
that  to  have  marched  against  an  enemy  several  thou- 

*  See  Appendix  (C). 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  193 

sand  strong,  with  such  a  force,  would  have  resulted  in 
its  total  destruction.  He  would  also  in  that  case  be 
compelled  to  leave  one  hundred  and  fifty  sick  soldiers 
in  his  camp  at  Seneca,  exposed  to  the  ruthless  foe, 
while  the  public  stores  at  Upper  Sandusky,  in  which 
were  included  ten  thousand  barrels  of  flour,  which 
were  indispensable  to  the  main  objects  of  the  cam 
paign,  would  be  equally  exposed  to  the  attack  of 
Tecumthe  and  his  horde  of  savages. 

This  renowned  chief  was  then  lying  between  Sen 
eca  and  Fort  Meigs,  ready  to  fall  upon  either  the 
former  place  or  Upper  Sandusky  the  moment  General 
Harrison  should  march  to  the  relief  of  Fort  Stephen- 
son.  He  was  bound,  therefore,  on  correct  military 
principles,  to  retain  that  position  in  which  he  could 
with  the  most  certainty  accomplish  the  best  results."1 
Confidently  relying  upon  reinforcements  before  the 
fort  could  be  reduced,  he  determined  to  await  the 
progress  of  events  for  a  time,  at  least.  On  the  night 
of  the  2nd  of  August,  that  the  enemy  was  retreating, 
and  having  in  the  meantime  received  a  reinforcement 
of  three  hundred  Ohio  militia,  he  set  out  for  the  fort 
early  the  next  morning,  attended  by  the  dragoons, 
and  directing  the  remainder  of  his  disposable  force  to 
follow  under  Generals  Cass  and  McArthur.  Upon 
arriving  at  the -fort,  he  was  informed  by  a  wounded 
British  sergeant,  that  Tecumthe  was  in  the  swamp, 
south  of  Fort  Meigs,  ready  to  attack  Upper  San 
dusky,  upon  the  first  opportunity.  This  information 

*  Sketches  of  General  Harrison. 

17 


194  THE   LIFE   OF 

corroborated  what  he  had  before  heard,  and  induced 
him  to  direct  General  McArthur,  who  had  not  yet 
reached  the  fort,  to  return  to  Seneca  with  all  possible 
dispatch. 

The  conduct  of  the  commander-in-chief,  in  regard 
to  the  defense  of  Fort  Stephen,  having  been  subject 
to  severe  criticism  by  his  enemies,  the  testimony  of 
the  gallant  Major  Croghan  himself,  in  reply  to  these 
disingenuous  charges,  may  be  here  appropriately  in 
troduced.  In  a  letter  to  a  friend  in  Cincinnati,  dated 
at  Lower  Sandusky,  August  27th,  1813,  he  wrote  as 
follows : 

"  I  have,  with  much  regret,  seen  in  some  of  the 
public  prints  such  misrepresentations  respecting  my 
refusal  to  evacuate  this  post  as  are  calculated  not 
only  to  injure  me  in  the  estimation  of  military  men, 
but  also  to  excite  unfavorable  impressions  as  to  the 
propriety  of  General  Harrison's  conduct  relative  to 
this  affair. 

"  His  character  as  a  military  man  is  too  well  es 
tablished  to  need  my  approbation  or  support.  But 
his  public  services  entitle  him  at  least  to  common  jus 
tice  :  this  affair  does  not  furnish  causes  of  reproach. 
If  public  opinion  has  been  hastily  misled  respecting 
his  late  conduct,  it  will  require  but  a  moment's  cool 
dispassionate  reflection  to  convince  them  of  its  pro 
priety.  The  measures  recently  adopted  by  him,  so 
far  from  deserving  censure,  are  the  clearest  proofs  of 
his  keen  penetration  and  able  generalship.  It  is  true 
that  I  did  not  proceed  immediately  to  execute  his 


WILLIAM   HENEY   HARRISON.  195 

order  to  evacuate  the  post ;  but  this  disobedience  was 
not  (as  some  would  wish  to  believe)  the  result  of  a 
fixed  determination  to  maintain  the  post  contrary  to 
his  most  positive  orders,  as  will  appear  from  the  fol 
lowing  detail,  which  is  given  to  explain  my  conduct. 

"  About  ten  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  the  30th 
ult.,  a  letter  from  the  Adjutant- General's  office,  dated 
Seneca  Town,  July  29,  1813,  was  handed  me  by  Me 
Conner,  ordering  me  to  abandon  this  post,  burn  it, 
and  retreat  that  night  to  head  quarters.  On  the  re 
ception  of  the  order,  I  called  a  council  of  officers,  in 
which  it  was  determined  not  to  abandon  the  place,  at 
least  until  the  further  pleasure  of  the  general  should 
be  known,  as  it  was  thought  an  attempt  to  retreat  in 
open  day,  in  the  face  of  a  superior  force  of  the  ene 
my,  would  be  more  hazardous  than  to  remain  in  the 
fort,  under  all  its  disadvantages.  I  therefore  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  general,  couched  in  such  terms  as  I 
thought  were  calculated  to  deceive  the  enemy,  should 
it  fall  into  his  hands,  which  I  thought  more  than 
probable,  as  well  as  to  inform  the  general,  should  it 
be  so  fortunate  as  to  reach  him,  that  I  would  wait  to 
hear  from  him  before  I  should  proceed  to  execute  his 
order.  This  letter,  contrary  to  my  expectations,  was 
received  by  the  general,  who,  not  knowing  what  rea 
sons  urged  me  to  write  in  a  tone  so  decisive,  con 
cluded,  very  rationally,  that  the  manner  of  it  was 
demonstrative  of  a  most  positive  determination  to 
disobey  his  orders  under  any  circumstances.  I  was 
therefore  suspended  from  the  command  of  the  fort, 


196  THE   LIFE   OF 

and  ordered  to  head  quarters.  But  on  explaining  to 
the  general  my  reasons  for  not  executing  his  order, 
and  my  object  in  using  the  style  I  had  done,  he  was 
so  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  explanation  that  I  was 
immediately  reinstated  in  the  command. 

"  It  will  be  recollected  that  the  order  above  al 
luded  to  was  written  on  the  night  previous  to  my 
receiving  it.  Had  it  been  delivered  to  me,  as  was  in 
tended,  that  night,  I  should  have  obeyed  it  without 
hesitation.  Its  not  reaching  me  in  time  was  the  only 
reason  which  induced  me  to  consult  my  officers  on  the 
propriety  of  waiting  the  general's  further  orders. 

"  It  has  been  stated  also  that,  *  upon  my  represen 
tation  of  my  ability  to  maintain  this  post,  the  general 
altered  his  determination  to  abandon  it.'  This  is  in 
correct  ;  no  such  representation  was  ever  made.  And 
the  last  order  I  received  from  the  general  was  pre 
cisely  the  same  as  that  first  given ;  viz.,  that  if  I  dis 
covered  the  approach  of  a  large  British  force  by 
water  (presuming  they  would  bring  heavy  artillery), 
and  had  time  enough  to  effect  a  retreat,  I  was  to  do 
so ;  but  if  I  could  not  retreat  with  safety,  to  defend 
the  post  to  the  last  extremity. 

"  A  day  or  two  before  the  enemy  appeared  at 
Fort  Meigs,  the  general  had  reconnoitered  the  sur 
rounding  ground,  and  being  informed  that  the  hill  on 
the  opposite  side  of  Sandusky  completely  commanded 
the  fort,  I  offered  to  undertake,  with  the  troops  under 
my  command,  to  remove  it  to  that  side.  The  gene 
ral,  upon  reflection,  thought  it  best  not  to  attempt  it, 


WILLIAM   HENRY    HARRISON.  197 

as  he  believed  that  if  the  enemy  again  appeared  on 
this  side  of  the  lake  it  would  be  before  the  work  could 
be  finished. 

"  It  is  useless  to  disguise  the  fact,  that  this  fort  is 
commanded  by  the  points  of  high  ground  around  it. 
One  single  stroke  of  the  eye  made  this  clear  to  me 
the  first  time  I  had  occasion  to  examine  the  neighbor 
hood,  with  a  view  of  discovering  the  relative  strength 
and  weakness  of  the  place. 

"  It  would  be  insincere  to  say  that  I  am  not  flat 
tered  by  the  many  handsome  things  which  have  been 
said  about  the  defense  which  was  made  by  the  troops 
under  my  command :  but  I  desire  no  plaudits  which 
are  bestowed  upon  me  at  the  expense  of  General 
Harrison. 

"  I  have  at  all  times  enjoyed  his  confidence,  so  far 
as  my  rank  in  the  army  entitled  me  to  it,  and  on 
proper  occasions  received  his  marked  attention.  I 
have  felt  the  warmest  attachment  for  him  as  a  man, 
and  my  confidence  in  him  as  an  able  commander  re 
mains  unshaken.  I  feel  every  assurance  that  he  will 
at  all  times  do  me  ample  justice ;  and  nothing  could 
give  me  more  pain  than  to  seize  upon  the  occasion  to 
deal  out  their  unfriendly  feelings  and  acrimonious  dis 
like  ;  and  so  long  as  he  continues  (as  in  my  humble 
opinion  he  has  done)  to  make  the  wisest  arrangements 
and  most  judicious  disposition  which  the  forces  under 
his  command  will  justify,  I  shall  not  hesitate  to  unite 
with  the  army  in  bestowing  upon  him  that  confidence 
17* 


198  THE   LIFE   OP 

which  he  so  richly  merits,  and  which  has  on  no  occa 
sion  been  withheld. 

"  In  addition  to  the  above  unqualified  and  mag 
nanimous  approval  of  General  Harrison's  conduct  by 
one  more  nearly  interested,  personally,  in  the  charges 
against  him,  all  the  field  officers  of  the  army  united 
in  a  cordial  approval  of  his  conduct,  and  in  an  unqual 
ified  denial  of  the  truth  of  those  charges.  Amongst 
others  who  thus  unequivocally  and  indignantly  re 
pudiated  everything  like  improper  conduct  in  the 
commander-in-chief,  in  reference  to  this  affair,  were 
General  Lewis  Cass,  Colonel  Samuel  Wells,  Colonel 
T.  D.  Owen,  Colonel  George  Paul,  Colonel  J.  C. 
Boatless,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Ball.  These  two 
documents  spontaneously  given,  and  from  the  highest 
possible  authority,  must  for  ever  put  at  rest,  at  least 
with  all  generous  minds,  the  censures  which  partizan 
illiberality  attempted  to  cast  upon  his  fair  name,  and 
his  military  fame." 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  199 


CHAPTER    XII. 

IMMEDIATELY  after  the  termination  of  the  bril 
liant  defense  of  Fort  Stephenson,  and  the  disgraceful 
repulse  of  the  enemy,  Tecumthe  raised  the  siege  of 
Fort  Meigs,  and  followed  Proctor  to  Detroit,  all  hopes 
being  given  up  by  the  enemy  of  reducing  the  Ameri 
can  forts,  until  they  could  gain  the  ascendancy  on  the 
lake.  The  utmost  exertions  had  been  made  in  the 
meanwhile,  by  Captain  Perry,  to  complete  the  naval 
arrangements  on  Lake  Erie.  By  the  2nd  of  August, 
the  fleet  was  fully  equipped,  though  some  time  was 
lost  in  getting  several  of  the  vessels  over  the  bar  at 
the  mouth  of  Erie  harbor.  On  the  4th,  Captain  Perry 
sailed  in  quest  of  the  enemy,  but  not  meeting  him,  he 
returned  on  the  8th.  But  after  receiving  a  reinforce 
ment  of  sailors,  he  again  sailed  on  the  12th,  and  on 
the  15th  anchored  in  the  Bay  of  Sandusky.  Here 
he  took  in  a  few  volunteer  marines,  and  again  sailed 
in  search  of  the  enemy,  and  after  cruising  off  Maiden 
a  short  time,  retired  to  Put-in-Bay,  a  distance  of 
thirty  miles. 

The  fleet  of  Captain  Perry  consisted  of  the  brig 
"Lawrence,"  his  flag  ship,  of  twenty  guns;  the  "Ni- 


200  THE   LIFE   OP 

agara,"  Captain  Elliot,  of  twenty  guns ;  the  "Caledo 
nian,"  Lieutenant  Turner,  of  three  guns;  the  schooner 
"Ariel,"  of  four  guns ;  the  "  Scorpion,"  of  two  guns  ; 
the  "  Somers,"  of  two  guns  and  two  swivels ;  the  sloop 
"  Trippe,"  and  the  schooners  "  Tigris"  and  "  Porcu 
pine,"  of  one  gun  each,  amounting  in  all  to  nine  ves 
sels,  fifty-four  guns  and  two  swivels. 

On  the  morning  of  the  10th  of  September,  the 
enemy  was  bearing  down  upon  the  American  squad 
ron,  which  immediately  got  under  way,  and  stood 
out  to  meet  him.  The  Americans  had  three  ves 
sels  more  than  the  British ;  but  this  advantage  was 
fully  counterbalanced  by  the  size  and  number  of  guns 
of  those  of  the  enemy.  The  fleet  of  the  latter  consist 
ed  of  the  "Detroit,"  Commodore  Barclay,  of  nineteen 
guns ;  the  "  Queen  Charlotte,"  Captain  Finnis,  of 
seventeen  guns;  the  schooner  "  Lady  Provost,"  Lieu 
tenant  Buchan,  of  thirteen  guns  and  two  howitzers  ; 
the  brig  "  Hunter,"  of  two  guns  ;  the  sloop  "  Little 
Belt,"  of  three  guns ;  and  the  schooner  "  Chippewa," 
of  one  gun  and  two  swivels  ;  in  all,  six  vessels,  sixty- 
three  guns,  four  howitzers  and  two  swivels. 

When  the  Americans  stood  out,  the  British  fleet  had 
the  weather  gage,  but  the  wind  soon  after  changed  and 
brought  the  American  fleet  to  the  windward.  The 
line  of  battle  was  formed  at  eleven  o'clock,  and  at  fif 
teen  minutes  before  twelve  the  enemy's  flag-ship,  and 
the  "  Queen  Charlotte,"  opened  the  fire  upon  the 
"  Lawrence,"  which  she  sustained  for  ten  minutes 
before  she  was  near  enough  to  return  the  fire.  She 


WILLIAM    HENET   HARRISON.  201 

continued  to  bear  up,  making  signals  for  the  other 
vessels  to  hasten  to  her  support.  At  five  minutes  be 
fore  twelve  she  brought  her  guns  to  bear  upon  the 
enemy.  The  wind  being  light,  unfortunately  the 
smaller  vessels  could  not  come  up  to  her  assistance, 
and  she  was,  therefore,  compelled  to  contend  single- 
handed  for  two  hours  with  two  ships,  each  nearly 
equal  to  her  in  force.  But  the  contest  was  maintained 
by  her  with  unshaken  courage,  and  with  a  coolness 
which  won  the  highest  admiration. 

By  this  time  the  "  Lawrence"  had  become  entirely 
unmanageable,  every  gun  in  her  being  dismounted,  and 
with  the  exception  of  four  or  five,  the  whole  crew  either 
killed  or  wounded.  Perry,  therefore,  determined  to 
leave  her.  With  a  presence  of  mind  and  courage  that 
showed  forth  the  praise  of  the  gallant  officer  to  whom 
he  was  opposed,  he  sprung  into  his  boat,  and  heroic 
ally  waving  his  sword  passed  with  his  flag  unharmed 
to  the  "  Niagara."  At  the  moment  he  reached  the 
"  Niagara,"  the  flag  of  the  "  Lawrence"  came  down. 
She  was  utterly  disabled  and  could  make  no  further 
resistance.  Captain  Elliot  now  left  the  "  Niagara" 
with  the  view  of  bringing  up  the  rest  of  the  fleet, 
while  Perry  again  bore  down  upon  the  enemy  in  a 
ship  that  had  as  yet  taken  no  part  in  the  action.  As  he 
passed  ahead  of  the  "  Detroit,"  "Queen  Charlotte" 
and  "  Lady  Provost,"  he  poured  into  each  a  broad 
side  from  his  starboard  side,  and  from  his  larboard 
poured  a  broadside  into  the  "  Chippewa"  and."  Little 
Belt."  The  fire  upon  the  "  Lady  Provost,"  was  so 


202  THE  LIFE   OF 

destructive  that  the  men  were  compelled  to  take  ref 
uge  below. 

At  this  moment  the  wind  freshened,  and  the  "  Cal 
edonian"  was  enabled  to  come  into  action,  opening  a 
heavy  fire.  Several  of  the  other  vessels  were  soon 
after  able  to  follow  her  example.  For  a  time  this 
action,  the  result  of  which  was  to  have  so  important 
a  bearing  upon  the  whole  campaign,  raged  with  inde 
scribable  violence.  The  command  of  a  sea,  and  the 
honor  of  two  rival  nations,  as  well  as  the  result  of  a 
campaign,  hung  upon  the  issue.  But  the  contest  was 
not  long  doubtful.  The  "  Queen  Charlotte"  lost  her 
Captain,  and  all  her  principal  officers,  and  by  some 
mischance  ran  foul  of  the  "Detroit,"  and  thus  the 
greater  part  of  the  guns  were  rendered  useless.  The 
two  ships  were  now  in  turn  compelled  to  sustain  a 
heavy  and  incessant  fire  from  the  "Niagara,"  and  the 
other  vessels  of  the  American  squadron.  The  flag  of 
Captain  Barclay  soon  struck,  and  the  "  Queen  Char 
lotte,"  the  "Lady  Provost,"  the  "  Hunter,"  and  the 
"  Chipppewa,"  surrendered  in  immediate  succession. 
The  "  Little  Belt"  attempted  to  escape,  but  was  pur 
sued  by  two  gun-boats  and  was  captured.* 

Thus  terminated  the  first  naval  action  between  an 
American  and  a  British  fleet.  Our  ships  had  often 
met  and  conquered  the  enemy  in  single  combat,  but 
we  had  never  before  beaten  Great  Britain  in  squad 
ron.  Every  vessel  of  the  enemy  was  captured,  and 
the  Americans,  by  this  brilliant  victory,  had  acquired 

*  Brackenridge. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  203 

absolute  command  of  Lake  Erie,  and  rendered  the  fall 
of  Maiden,  and  the  recovery  of  Detroit,  and  conse 
quently  of  Michigan,  almost  certain.  If  anything 
could  enhance  the  brilliancy  of  this  victory,  and  add 
to  the  fame  of  the  heroic  Perry^  it  was  the  modest 
and  ever  memorable  terms  in  which  he  announced  the 
splendid  achievement.  "  We  have  met  the  enemy  and 
they  are  ours,"  has  become  and  will  remain  the  watch 
word  of  victory,  while  the  Union  lasts,  and  will  do 
little  less  to  render  immortal  the  name  of  Oliver 
Hazzard  Perry,  than  the  victory  the  language  was 
designed  to  announce. 

The  loss  on  both  sides,  in  this  engagement,  was 
unusually  severe,  compared  with  their  respective 
forces,  though  much  the  heaviest  in  the  British  fleet. 
The  Americans  had  twenty-seven  killed  and  ninety- 
six  wounded.  Amongst  the  former  were  Lieutenant 
Brooks  of  the  marines,  and  Midshipman  Laub  ;  and 
amongst  the  latter,  Lieutenant  Yarnall,  Sailing-master 
Taylor,  Purser  Hamilton,  and  Midshipmen  Claxton 
and  Swartwout.  The  loss  of  the  British  amounted  to 
about  two  hundred,  in  killed  and  wounded,  many  of 
whom  were  officers ;  and  the  prisoners,  who  amounted 
to  six  hundred,  exceeded  the  whole  number  of  Ameri 
cans  engaged  under  Perry.  After  the  victory  had  been 
decided,  Commmodore  Perry's  humane  conduct  to  the 
wounded  British  soldiers,  and  his  kind  consideration  to 
his  prisoners,  was  as  honorable  to  his  nature  as  his 
coolness  and  bravery  during  the  action  was  to  him  as 
an  officer.  It  called  forth  their  warmest  thanks.  Cap- 


204  THE    LIFE   OF 

tain  Barclay  declared  that  "  his  conduct  towards  the 
captive  officers  and  men  was  enough  to  immortalize 
him." 

Having  now  by  this  signal  victory  over  the  British, 
and  the  destruction*  of  their  whole  fleet,  obtained  un 
disputed  possession  of  the  lake,  active  preparations 
were  immediately  made  for  expelling  Proctor  from 
Maiden,  and  for  the  recovery  of  Detroit.  General 
Harrison  called  on  Governor  Meigs  for  a  portion  of 
the  Ohio  volunteers,  who,  it  has  previously  been 
stated,  had  tendered  their  services  to  General  Harri 
son  ;  the  whole  of  whom  had  not  yet  been  disbanded. 
On  the  17th  of  September,  four  thousand  volunteers, 
the  flower  of  Kentucky,  with  the  venerable  and  patri 
otic  Governor  Shelby,  the  hero  of  King's  mountain,  at 
their  head,  arrived  at  General  Harrison's  camp. 

Thus  reinforced,  the  commander-in-chief  deter 
mined  at  once  to  embark  the  infantry  on  board  the 
fleet  for  Maiden ;  and  he  directed  Colonel  Richard 
M.  Johnson  to  proceed  with  his  mounted  regiment  of 
Kentuckians  to  Detroit  by  land.  The  latter  accord 
ingly  took  up  their  line  of  march,  and  arrived  at  the 
point  of  destination  on  the  30th  of  September,  the 
day  after  the  infantry.  On  the  27th,  the  other  troops 
embarked  on  board  the  vessels,  and  the  next  day  ar 
rived  at  a  point  below  Maiden.  But  the  British  gen 
eral,  brave  as  he  was,  in  making  war  upon  unarmed 
men,  declined  to  wait  the  approach  of  the  Americans 
at  that  point.  He  had  therefore  destroyed  the  fleet 
and  public  stores,  and  retreated  along  the  Thames 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  205 

towards  the  Moravian  villages,  together  with  his  sav 
age  allies  under  Tecumthe.  Upon  arriving  at  Mai 
den,  a  number  of  females  came  out  to  implore  the 
protection  of  the  commander-in-chief ;  but  he  had 
already  given  orders  that  even  Proctor  himself,  if 
taken  prisoner,  should  not  be  harmed,  much  less  inno 
cent  and  unprotected  women.  Governor  Shelby  had 
also  issued  an  address  to  the  Kentucky  troops,  enforc 
ing  it  upon  them  to  treat  the  inhabitants  with  justice 
and  humanity,  and  to  respect  private  property.  On 
the  29th,  the  army  reached  Detroit,  and  took  posses 
sion  of  that  town.  It  was  resolved  by  General 
Harrison  and  Governor  Shelby  to  proceed  immedi 
ately  in  pursuit  of  General  Proctor. 

On  the  2nd  of  October,  they  marched  with  a  force 
of  three  thousand  selected  men,  consisting  chiefly  of 
Colonel  Ball's  dragoons,  Colonel  Johnson's  mounted 
regiment,  and  other  detachments  of  Governor  Shel 
by's  Kentucky  volunteers.  Commodore  Perry  and 
General  Cass  accompanied  General  Harrison  on  this 
enterprise  as  volunteer  aids.  On  the  first  day  the 
army  moved  with  such  rapidity  that  it  traveled  twen 
ty-six  miles.  The  same  day  they  captured  a  Lieu 
tenant  of  dragoons  and  eleven  privates,  from  whom  it 
was  ascertained  that  Proctor  had  no  certain  knowl 
edge  of  the  approach  of  General  Harrison.  While 
repairing  a  bridge  across  a  branch  of  the  Thames, 
which  the  enemy  had  partly  destroyed,  they  were 
attacked  by  a  body  of  Indians  from  the  other  side. 
But  they  were  soon  dispersed,  and  two  thousand  stand 
18 


206  THE   LIFE    OP 

of  arms  and  a  quantity  of  clothing  taken.  They  then 
pursued  the  enemy  four  miles  up  the  Thames,  taking 
several  pieces  of  cannon,  and  compelling  them  to  de 
stroy  several  vessels  containing  public  stores.  The 
following  day  they  reached  the  place  where  the  ene 
my  had  encamped  the  night  before. 

General  Harrison  ascertained  shortly  after  that 
the  British  army  had  made  a  stand  a  few  miles  dis 
tant,  and  was  preparing  for  action.  General  Proctor 
had  drawn  up  his  regular  forces  across  a  narrow  strip 
of  land  covered  with  hearth  trees,  flanked  on  one  side 
by  a  swamp,  and  on  the  other  by  the  River  Thames. 
Their  left  rested  on  the  river,  supported  by  the  larger 
portion  of  their  artillery,  and  their  right  on  the 
swamp.  Beyond  the  swamp,  and  between  it  and  the 
other  morass,  still  further  to  the  right,  were  posted 
the  Indians  under  Tecumthe.  This  position  was  skil 
fully  chosen  by  Proctor ;  but  he  committed  a  fatal 
error  in  neglecting  to  fortify  his  front,  and  drawing 
up  his  troops  in  open  order.  His  whole  force  con 
sisted  of  eight  hundred  regular  soldiers,  and  two 
thousand  Indian  warriors.* 

The  troops,  at  General  Harrison's  disposal,  amount 
ed  to  about  three  thousand.  But  when  it  is  recol 
lected  that  the  enemy  had  chosen  his  own  position, 
effectually  securing  his  flank,  and  that  Harrison  could 
not  present  to  him  a  line  more  extended  than  his  own, 
this  disparity  of  force  will  be  admitted  to  be  nearly 
or  quite  compensated  for,  and  the  superior  bravery  of 
*  Brackenridge. 


• 

WILLIAM    HENRY  HARRISON.  207 

the  American  troops  made  apparent.  They  consisted 
of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  regulars,  of  the 
twenty-seventh  regiment ;  five  brigades  of  Kentucky 
volunteer  militia  infantry,  under  Governor  Shelby, 
averaging  less  than  five  hundred  men;  and  Colonel 
Johnson's  mounted  infantry.  No  disposition  of  an 
army,  opposed  to  an  Indian  force,  can  be  safe,  unless 
it  can  be  secured  on  the  flank  and  in  the  rear.  Gen 
eral  Harrison  formed  his  men  in  conformity  with  this 


General  Trotter's  brigade,  of  five  hundred  men, 
formed  the  front  line ;  his  right  up  the  road,  and  his 
left  upon  the  swamp.  General  King's  brigade  formed 
the  second  line,  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  in  the 
rear  of  General  Trotter's ;  and  General  Child's  brig 
ade,  as  a  corps  reserve,  in  the  rear  of  it.  These  three 
brigadiers  formed  the  command  of  Major-General 
Henry.  The  whole  of  General  Desha's  division,  con 
sisting  of  two  brigades,  were  formed  en  potence  on 
the  left  of  General  Trotter. 

While  General  Harrison  was  engaged  in  forming 
the  infantry,  he  had  directed  Colonel  Johnson's  regi 
ment,  which  was  still  in  front,  to  be  formed  in  two 
lines  opposite  to  the  enemy ;  and,  upon  the  advance 
of  the  infantry,  to  take  ground  to  the  left,  and  fixing 
upon  that  flank,  endeavor  to  turn  the  right  of  the 
Indians.  But  from  the  thickness  of  the  woods,  and 
swampiness  of  the  ground,  he  was  convinced  that  they 
would  be  unabled  to  do  anything  on  horseback,  and 
there  was  no  time  to  dismount  and  place  their  horses 


208  THE   LIFE    OF 

in  security.  He,  therefore,  determined  to  refuse  his 
left  to  the  Indians,  and  to  break  the  British  lines,  at 
once,  by  a  charge  of  the  mounted  infantry.  This  was 
a  novel  movement  in  military  tactics,  suggested  by 
General  Harrison's  good  judgment,  and  one  that 
he  was  satisfied  would  succeed,  from  the  fact  that 
American  backwoodsmen  ride  better  in  the  woods 
than  any  other  people.  He  was  persuaded,  too,  that 
the  enemy  would  be  quite  unprepared  for  the  shock, 
and  would  be  unable  to  resist  it. 

In  accordance  with  this  plan,  General  Harrison 
directed  the  regiment  to  be  drawn  up  in  close  columns, 
with  its  right  at  a  distance  of  fifty  yards  from  the 
road,  that  it  might  be,  in  some  measure,  protected  by 
the  trees  from  the  artillery ;  its  left  upon  the  swamp, 
and  to  charge  at  full  speed  as  soon  as  the  enemy 
delivered  their  fire.  The  few  regular  troops  of  the 
twenty-seventh  regiment,  under  Colonel  Paul,  occu 
pied,  in  columns  of  sections  four,  the  small  space, 
between  the  road  and  the  river,  for  the  purpose  of 
seizing  the  enemy's  artillery,  and  some  ten  or  twelve 
friendly  Indians  were  directed  to  move  under  the 
bank.  The  crotchet  formed  by  the  first  line,  and  Gen 
eral  Desha's  division,  was  an  important  point.  At  that 
place  Governor  Shelby  was  posted. 

General  Harrison  placed  himself  at  the  head  of 
the  front  line  of  infantry  to  direct  the  movements 
of  the  cavalry,  and  to  give  them  the  necessary 
support.  The  army  had  moved  on  in  this  order,  but 
a  short  distance,  when  the  mounted  men  received  the 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  209 

fire  of  the  British  line  and  were  ordered  to  charge. 
The  horses  in  the  front  column  recoiled  from  the  fire. 
Another  fire  was  immediately  given  by  the  enemy, 
and  the  cavalry  at  length,  getting  in  motion,  broke 
through  them  with  irresistible  force.  In  one  minute 
the  contest  in  front  was  over.  The  British  officers, 
seeing  no  hope  of  reducing  their  broken  and  panic- 
struck  ranks  to  order,  and  the  American  mounted 
men  wheeling  upon  them  and  pouring  in  upon  them  a 
steady  and  destructive  fire,  immediately  surrendered. 
Upon  the  left,  however,  the  contest  was  more  severe 
with  the  Indians.  Colonel  Johnson,  who  commanded 
on  the  flank  of  his  regiment,  received  a  most  galling 
fire  from  them  :  but  it  was  returned  with  great  effect. 
The  Indians,  still  further  to  the  right,  advanced  and 
fell  in  with  our  front  line  of  infantry,  near  its  junc 
tion  with  General  Desha's  division,  and  for  a  moment 
made  an  impression  upon  it.  Governor  Shelby,  how 
ever,  brought  up  a  regiment  to  its  support,  and  the 
enemy  receiving  a  severe  fire  in  front,  and  a  part  of 
Colonel  Johnson's  regiment  having  gained  their  rear, 
retreated  with  precipitation. 

During  the  action  the  Indians,  under  their  distin 
guished  leader,  Tecumthe,  fought  with  a  courage  and 
determination  which  the  British  troops  did  not  ex 
hibit.  The  voice  of 'their  great  chief  could  be  dis 
tinctly  heard,  even  above  the  roar  of  battle,  encour 
aging  his  warriors  to  increased  efforts ;  and  although 
beset  on  every  side,  except  that  of  the  morass,  they 
fought  with  more  obstinate  bravery  than  they  had 
18* 


210  THE   LIFE   OF 

ever  exhibited  before.  Indeed,  they  only  ceased  their 
efforts  after  the  fall  of  Tecumthe,  who  was  killed  near 
the  close  of  the  action.  Colonel  Johnson  having  ob 
served  the  desperation  with  which  he  and  a  body 
of  warriors  who  had  gathered  around  him  fought, 
charged  into  the  midst  of  them.  His  uniform  and 
the  white  horse  he  rode  made  him  a  conspicuous  mark 
for  Indian  rifles,  and  he  almost  immediately  fell  badly 
wounded.  Tecumthe  meanwhile  was  killed  in  the 
melee ;  but  the  Indians  continued  to  fight  as  fiercely 
as  ever  for  some  time,  until  no  longer  hearing  the 
voice  of  their  great  leader,  they  gave  way  on  all 
sides.  The  contest  was  now  closed,  and  the  Ameri 
cans  had  obtained  an  overwhelming  victory  over  the 
marauder  Proctor  and  his  far  greater  and  more  mag 
nanimous  ally,  Tecumthe. 

The  loss  of  the  British  in  this  engagement  was 
nineteen  killed,  fifty  wounded,  and  six  hundred  taken 
prisoners.  The  Indians  left  one  hundred  and  twenty 
on  the  field.  The  American  loss,  in  killed  and  wound 
ed,  amounted  to  upwards  of  fifty,  seventeen  of  whom 
were  Kentuckians.  Several  pieces  of  brass  cannon, 
the  trophies  of  the  revolutionary  war,  and  which  had 
been  surrendered  by  General  Hull  at  Detroit,  were 
retaken.  General  Proctor  basely  deserted  his  troops, 
almost  at  the  very  commencement  of  the  action,  thus 
confirming  beyond  a  doubt  the  proof  of  his  cowardice 
already  given  by  his  conduct  in  murdering  disarmed 
prisoners. 

General   Harrison  immediately  ordered  Colonel 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  211 

Payne  to  pursue  the  fugitive  with  a  part  of  his  bat- 
tallion,  which  was  promptly  done,  and  the  pursuit 
continued  for  a  distance  of  six  miles  beyond  the  Mo 
ravian  towns,  where  some  Indians  were  killed,  and  a 
large  amount  of  public  property  captured.  The  pur 
suit  was  still  continued  by  several  officers,  with  their 
privates,  for  several  miles,  but  was  arrested  by  the 
darkness  of  night.  His  pursuers,  however,  pressed 
him  so  closely  that  he  was  obliged  to  abandon  his 
carriage,  which,  together  with  his  sword  and  papers, 
fell  into  their  hands,  and  conceal  himself  in  the  forest. 

In  communicating  to  the  Secretary  of  War  his 
report  of  this  action,  he  commended,  in  the  warmest 
terms,  the  conduct  of  his  officers  and  men  on  the  oc 
casion.  Of  Governor  Shelby  especially  he  spoke  in 
terms  of  the  highest  admiration,  and  scarcely  less 
warmly  of  Generals  Henry,  Desha,  Allen,  Caldwell, 
King,  Chiles,  and  Trotter;  of  his  aids  O'Fullen, 
Todd,  Perry,  Cass,  Smith  and  Chambers ;  of  Colonel 
Johnson,  Payne  and  Thompson,  and  of  Major  Wood 
and  Captain  Butler,  all  of  whom  rendered  their  coun 
try  good  service  on  that  day,  as  did  every  officer  and 
private  in  the  engagement.  Commodore  Perry  re- 
payed  the  important  aid  General  Harrison  had  ren 
dered  him  in  the  battle  of  Lake  Erie. 

It  has  been  well  said  that,  in  the  signal  victory 
gained  over  Barclay's  fleet  and  Proctor's  army,  it  is 
impossible  to  separate  the  brave  and  victorious  com 
manders.  The  circumstances  are  indeed  very  strik 
ing.  General  Harrison  sent  reinforcements  to  assist 


212  THE   LIFE    OF 

Perry,  and  the  action  terminated  in  the  capture  of  the 
whole  British  fleet.  In  return,  Commodore  Perry 
volunteered  with  General  Harrison,  and  assisted  him 
in  the  capture  of  the  British  army.  Perry,  himself, 
in  writing  to  General  Harrison,  bears  cheerful  testi 
mony  to  the  valuable  aid  received  from  him.  He 
says,  "  the  very  great  assistance,  in  the  action  of  the 
10th,  rendered  by  these  men,  you  were  pleased  to 
send  on  board  the  squadron,  renders  it  a  duty  to 
return  you  my  sincere  thanks  for  so  timely  a  rein 
forcement.  In  fact,  sir,  I  may  say,  that  without 
those  nine,  the  victory  could  not  have  been  achiev 
ed." 

Having  now,  in  conjunction  with  Commodore  Per 
ry,  taken  quiet  possession  of  Upper  Canada,  on  the 
17th  of  October,  they  issued  a  proclamation,  setting 
forth,  that  as  the  combined  land  and  naval  forces 
under  their  command,  those  of  the  enemy  in  the  upper 
district  of  Upper  Canada,  had  been  captured  or  de 
stroyed, — and  as  the  said  district  was  then  in  the 
quiet  possession  of  their  troops, — it  became  necessary 
to  provide  for  its  government.  Therefore,  they  pro 
claimed  and  made  known  that  the  rights  and  privileges 
of  the  inhabitants,  and  the  laws  and  customs  of  the 
country  as  they  existed,  or  were  in  force,  before  their 
arrival,  should  continue  to  prevail.  All  magistrates, 
and  all  other  civil  officers,  were  to  resume  the  exercise 
of  their  functions,  previously  taking  an  oath  to  be 
faithful  to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  as 
long  as  they  shall  be  in  possession  of  the  country. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  213 

The  authority  of  militia  commissions  was  suspended 
in  said  districts,  and  the  officers  required  to  give  their 
parole  in  such  way  as  the  officer,  who  may  be  ap 
pointed  by  the  commanding-general  to  administer  the 
government,  shall  direct. 

The  inhabitants  of  said  districts  were  promised  pro 
tection  to  their  persons  and  property,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  those  cases  embraced  by  the  proclamation  of 
General  Proctor,  which  was  declared  to  be  in  full 
force,  and  the  powers  therein  assumed  were  transferred 
to  the  officer  appointed. 

An  anecdote  is  related  in  connection  ^th  the  battle 
of  the  Thames,  by  an  eye  witness,  and  indeed  by  one 
of  the  parties,  showing  the  painful  degree  of  anxiety 
that  the  barbarities  of  Proctor  and  his  Indian  blood 
hounds  had  created,  and  the  wild  enthusiasm  that  the 
news  of  the  victory  caused.  In  those  days  mails 
were  few  and  uncertain ;  and  our  citizens  eagerly 
hailed  every  traveler  from  the  West  for  some  in 
telligence  of  our  army.  Such  was  the  delay  and 
uncertainty,  that  it  was  generally  believed  that  Har 
rison  and  his  army  had,  like  those  before  him,  been 
defeated  and  massacred.  The  narrator  of  this  cir 
cumstance  was,  at  the  time  referred  to,  attending  school 
in  a  log  cabin,  in  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  taught 
by  an  honest  and  patriotic  Irishman. 

One  day  while  his  eyes  were  wandering  out  of  the 
window,  as  the  eyes  of  the  best  disposed  scholars 
sometimes  will  wander,  he  espied  the  mail  boy,  from 
the  West,  coming  at  full  speed.  Soon  he  reached  the 


214  THE   LIFE   OP 

log  cabin  school-house,  and  as  he  passed  it,  he  called 
out,  "  Harrison  has  whipped  the  British  and  the  In 
dians  !"  The  Irish  tutor,  with  as  true  an  American 
heart,  as  ever  beat  in  human  bosom,  immediately 
sprang  from  his  seat  as  the  tomahawk  of  Tecumthe  was 
about  to  be  hurled  at  his  head,  his  eyes  flashing  fire, 
and  exclaimed  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "  Boys,  do  you 
hear  that  /"  Then  siezing  his  hat,  he  rushed  madly  out 
in  pursuit  of  the  mail  boy,  his  scholars  all  at  his  heels, 
and  all  exclaiming  in  the  delirium  of  happy  excite 
ment,  "  Hurrah  for  General  Harrison  !"  "  God  bless 
General  H&rison  !"  In  a  few  moments  the  whole 
village  joined  in  the  glad  shout — "Hurrah  for  Gen 
eral  Harrison  !  He  has  whipped  the  British  and  In 
dians!" 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  216 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

THE  defeat  and  capture  of  the  British  army  at 
the  battle  of  the  Thames  was  attended  with  the  most 
important  results.  It,  in  reality,  finished  the  work 
which  Commodore  Perry  had  so  well  begun,  by  his 
glorious  victory  on  Lake  Erie,  and  enabled  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  to  rescue  the  whole  north-western 
territory  from  the  depredations  of  the  savages,  and 
the  horrors  of  war.  The  national  gratitude  burst  out 
in  one  loud  voice  of  applause ;  General  Harrison  was 
complimented  by  Congress,  and  by  various  public 
bodies,  and  his  victory  was  declared  by  Langdon 
Cheves,  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  that  the  victory 
was  such  as  would  have  secured  to  a  Roman  general, 
in  the  best  days  of  the  republic,  the  honors  of  a  tri 
umph,  and  that  it  put  an  end  to  the  war  in  Upper 
Canada.  And  President  Madison,  in  his  next  annual 
message,  declared,  in  equally  emphatic  language,  that 
the  result  was  signally  honorable  to  Major-General 
Harrison,  by  whose  military  talents  the  victory  was 
won.  And  again,  Governor  Snyder,  in  his  annual 
message  to  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  said,  the 
blessings  of  thousands  of  women  and  children  rescued 
from  the  scalping-knife  of  the  ruthless  savage  of  the 


216  THE   LIFE   OP 

wilderness,  and  from  the  still  more  savage  Proctor, 
rest  on  Harrison  and  his  gallant  army.  Such  was 
the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  country  upon  General 
Harrison's  conduct,  and  of  the  consequences  that  must 
flow  from  the  victory  of  the  Thames. 

General  Harrison  was  now  in  a  condition  to  pro 
ceed  to  the  Niagara  frontier  without  the  risk  of  a 
repetition  of  Proctor's  outrages,  which  he  accordingly 
did,  taking  Me  Arthur's  brigade ;  the  rifle  regiment, 
under  Colonel  Wells ;  and  the  battalion,  under  Colo 
nel  Ball.  In  this  he  anticipated  the  wishes  of  the 
government.  Though  he  had  received  no  instructions 
from  the  War  Department,  since  the  preceding  July, 
his  own  intricate  acquaintance  with  the  condition 
and  wants  of  the  country,  as  well  as  his  superior 
knowledge  of  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  and  his 
correct  military  judgment,  led  him  to  transfer  his 
disposable  force  to  the  Niagara  straits  after  he  had 
so  successfully  accomplished  the  main  objects  of  the 
campaign.  The  want  of  necessary  provisions,  and  the 
advanced  state  of  the  season,  had  previously  induced 
him  and  Commodore  Perry  to  abandon,  for  the  pres 
ent,  the  expedition  against  Mackinac.  General  Cass 
was  stationed  at  Detroit,  with  his  brigade,  and  the 
civil  government  of  Michigan,  and  the  military  oc 
cupation  of  Upper  Canada  was  committed  to  his 
charge.* 

On  the  22nd,  General  Harrison  reached  Erie,  in 
Commodore  Perry's  fleet,  and  Buffalo  on  the  24th  of 
*  Sketches  of  General  Harrison. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  217 

October,  and  proceeded  immediately  to  Newark,  where 
he  assumed  the  command  of  the  troops  at  that  place, 
and  also  at  Forts  George  and  Niagara,  then  under 
the  command  of  General  McClure,  of  New  York. 
While  at  Newark,  he  received  from  General  Arm 
strong,  the  Secretary  of  War,  a  copy  of  the  despatch 
of  22nd  September,  which  had  been  lost  by  Captain 
Brown  in  attempting  to  pass  up  the  Detroit  in  Octo 
ber.  This  letter  suggested  to  General  Harrison  the 
propriety  of  proceeding  to  the  Niagara  straits  after 
he  had  secured  Maiden  and  the  army  under  Proctor. 
Another  letter  received  from  him,  about  the  same 
time,  under  date  of  October  20th,  adds  the  weight  of 
his  opinion  in  favor  of  the  course  adopted  by  General 
Harrison,  in  his  operations  against  Proctor,  a  subject 
about  which  there  had  been  some  controversy.  In  a 
letter  dated  the  30th  of  the  same  month,  the  Secreta 
ry  of  War  recommended  to  General  Harrison,  to  move 
against  the  enemy  at  Burlington  Heights,  near  the 
head  of  Lake  Ontario,  the  capture  or  destruction  of 
which,  he  says,  would  be  a  glorious  finale  to  the  cam 
paign. 

Greatly  to  the  surprise  of  every  one,  however, 
four  days  after  this  letter  was  received,  he  was,  in 
effect,  suspended  from  his  command  by  the  same  ad 
ministration  which  had,  up  to  that  time,  given  him  so 
many  proofs  of  its  approval  of  his  conduct.  On  the 
3rd  of  November,  he  received  a  despatch  from  Gen 
eral  Armstrong,  requiring  him  to  send  General  Me 
Arthur's  brigade  to  Sacket's  Harbor,  and  concluding 
19 


218  THE   LIFE   OF 

with  the  declaration,  that  he  would  be  permitted  to 
make  a  visit  to  hia  family.  This  General  Harrison 
very  naturally  understood  as  an  order  to  retire  to  his 
own  district.  His  letters  to  General  McClure,  of  No 
vember  15th,  show  that  he  regarded  it  in  this  light ;  and 
that  he  believed  it  left  him  no  alternative  as  to  the 
disposal  of  General  McArthur's  brigade.  Immediately 
upon  the  receipt  of  this  intimation,  he  accompanied 
the  troops  to  Sacket's  Harbor,  and  thence  returned 
to  Cincinnati,  resuming  early  in  January,  1814,  the 
command  of  the  eighth  military  district. 

Shortly  before  his  departure  from  Fort  George, 
an  interesting  correspondence  took  place  between 
General  Harrison  and  the  British  General  Vincent,  ia 
regard  to  the  treatment  of  prisoners  of  war.  General 
Harrison,  after  assuring  him  that  he  had  taken  every 
precaution  in  regard  to  the  prisoners  in  his  hands,  he 
adds,  with  equal  force  and  justice,  that  he  wished  it 
distinctly  understood,  that  in  these  assurances  his 
conduct  had  been  directed  solely  by  motives  of  hu 
manity,  and  not  by  a  belief  that  it  could  be  claimed 
on  the  score  of  reciprocity  of  treatment  towards  the 
American  prisoners  who  had  fallen  into  General 
Proctor's  hands.  He  continues,  that  the  unhappy 
description  of  persons  who  have  escaped  from  the 
tomahawk  of  the  savages,  in  the  employment  of  the 
British  government,  who  fought  under  the  immediate 
orders  of  that  inhuman  and  cowardly  officer,  had 
suffered  all  the  indignities  and  privations  which 
human  nature  is  capable  of  enduring.  He  insisted 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  219 

that  there  was  not  a  single  instance  in  which  the  pro 
perty  of  the  officers  had  not  been  respected. 

Having  thus  briefly  referred  to  the  past  treatment 
of  American  prisoners,  and  to  the  horrid  barbarities 
committed  by  the  savages,  under  the  command  of 
Proctor,  he  demanded  from  General  Vincent  an.  ex 
plicit  declaration  as  to  the  future,  and  whether  the 
same  species  of  warfare  which  they  had,  up  to  that 
time,  practiced  against  the  American  troops,  and 
against  the  peaceable  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers, 
was  to  be  continued.  He  recounted  a  long  list  of 
barbarities  of  this  kind,  many  of  them  perpetrated 
under  the  very  eyes  of  British  officers. 

To  retaliate,  he  proceeds  to  say,  upon  the  sub 
jects  of  the  king,  would  have  been  justifiable  by  the 
laws  of  war,  and  the  usages  of  the  most  civilized  na 
tions.  To  do  so  has  been  most  amply  within  my 
power.  The  tide  of  fortune  has  changed  in  our  favor, 
and  an  extensive  and  flourishing  province  opened  to 
our  arms,  nor  have  the  instruments  of  vengeance  be'en 
wanting.  The  savages,  who  sued  to  us  for  mercy, 
would  gladly  have  shown  their  claims  to  it  by  re-en 
acting  upon  the  Thames  the  bloody  scenes  of  French- 
town,  Fort  Meigs  and  Cold  Creek.  A  single  sign 
would  have  been  sufficient  to  have  poured  upon  the 
subjects  of  the  king  their  whole  fury.  The  future 
conduct  of  the  British  officers  will  determine  the  cor 
rectness  of  mine  in  withholding  it.  If  the  savages 
should  again  be  let  loose  upon  our  settlements,  I  shall 
with  justice  be  accused  of  sacrificing  the  interests  and 


220  THE    LIFE   OF 

honor  of  my  country,  and  the  lives  of  our  fellow-citi 
zens  to  feelings  of  false  and  mistaken  humanity.  You 
are  a  soldier,  sir,  and,  as  I  sincerely  believe,  possess 
all  the  honorable  sentiments  which  ought  always  to  be 
found  in  men  who  follow  the  profession  of  arms.  Use 
thep,  I  pray  you,  your  authority  and  influence  to  stop 
that  dreadful  effusion  of  innocent  blood,  which  pro 
ceeds  from  the  employment  of  those  monsters  whose 
aid  is  so  little  to  be  depended  upon,  when  most  need 
ed,  and  which  can  have  so  trifling  an  influence  upon 
the  issue  of  the  war.  The  effect  of  their  barbarities 
will  not  be  confined  to  the  present  generation.  Ages 
to  come  will  feel  the  deep-rooted  hatred  and  enmity 
which  they  must  produce  between  the  two  nations. 

I  deprecate  most  sincerely  the  dreadful  alternative 
which  will  be  offered  to  me  should  it  be  continued ; 
but  I  solemnly  declare  that  if  the  Indians,  who  re 
main  under  the  influence  of  the  British  government, 
are  suffered  to  commit  any  depredations  upon  the  dis 
trict  that  is  committed  to  my  protection,  I  will  remove 
the  restrictions  which  have  hitherto  been  imposed 
upon  those  who  have  offered  their  services  to  the 
United  States,  and  direct  them  to  carry  on  the  war  in 
their  own  way.  I  have  never  heard  a  single  excuse 
for  the  employment  of  savages  by  your  government, 
unless  we  can  credit  the  story  of  some  British  officers, 
having  dared  to  assert  that,  as  we  employ  Kentuck- 
ians,  you  had  a  right  to  make  use  of  the  Indians. 

If  such  injurious  sentiments  have  really  prevailed, 
to  the  prejudice  of  a  brave,  well  informed,  and  virtu- 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  221 

ous  people,  they  will  be  removed  by  the  representa 
tions  of  your  officers  who  were  lately  taken  upon  the 
River  Thames.  They  will  inform  you,  sir,  that  so  far 
from  offering  any  violence  to  the  persons  of  their 
prisoners,  these  savages  would  not  suffer  a  word  to  es 
cape  them  which  was  calculated  to  wound  or  insult 
their  feelings,  and  this,  too,  with  the  sufferings  of  their 
friends  at  the  River  Raisin  and  the  Miami  fresh  upon 
their  recollection. 

In  answer  to  this  letter,  General  Vincent  admitted 
that  the  captured  British  officers  bore  full  testimony 
to  the  kind  and  humane  treatment  they  had  received 
from  their  American  captors,  but  he  declined  giving 
General  Harrison  the  assurances  he  required,  that  he 
would  thereafter  prevent  a  repetition  of  those  atroci 
ties  which  had  rendered  Proctor's  name  forever  infa 
mous,  though  he  pledged  himself  to  endeavor  to  alle 
viate  as  much  as  possible  those  who,  by  the  chances 
of  war,  might  fall  into  his  hands.  He  also  expressed 
his  desire  that  no  such  acts  of  cruelty  might  be  there 
after  committed,  under  any  pretext.  His  reply  was  cau 
tious  and  non-committed.  Either  he  felt  that  he  could 
not,  or  did  not  wish,  wholly  to  suppress  the  outrages 
of  which  General  Harrison  so  indignantly  and  so 
justly  complained. 

General  Harrison,  it  has  been  seen,  returned  to 
Cincinnati,  after  the  very  extraordinary  letter  of  the 
Secretary  of  War  to  him,  of  December  J5rd,  and  re 
sumed  the  command  of  his  military  division.  The 
course  of  public  opinion,  during  the  winter  succeeding 
19* 


222  THE   LIFE   OP 

his  virtual  suspension  from  the  command  of  the  north 
western  army,  indicated  very  decidedly  the  choice  of 
the  victor  of  Tippecanoe,  Fort  Meigs  and  the  Thames, 
as  the  most  suitable  officer  to  be  invested  with  the 
chief  command  of  the  army  in  the  next  campaign. 
Commodore  Perry,  General  McArthur  and  other  gal 
lant  and  experienced  officers,  expressed  the  most 
earnest  desire  that  he  might  be  appointed  command- 
er-in-chief  for  the  ensuing  campaign.  But  from 
causes  which  can  neither  be  explained  nor  justified, 
General  Armstrong's  feelings  and  opinions  had  under 
gone  a  remarkable  change  in  regard  to  General 
Harrison,  or  at  least,  his  conduct  towards  him  had 
undergone  a  change  not  dictated  by  a  regard  for  the 
interests  of  the  country,  or  by  any  sudden  light  he 
had  received  in  regard  to  his  character  and  public 
services.  His  conduct,  therefore,  in  regard  to  an 
officer,  who  had  so  faithfully,  so  ably,  and,  above 
all,  so  successfully  discharged  his  duty  to  the  coun 
try,  and  who  was,  besides,  the  idol  of  the  army,  must 
be  attributed  as  dishonorable  to  General  Armstrong, 
as  the  consequences  growing  out  of  their  indulgence 
was  injurious  to  the  public  service.  Nor  is  the  admin 
istration  entirely  from  just  censure  for  permitting  and 
indeed  sanctioning  an  act  of  such  glaring  injustice 
to  a  great  and  successful,  and  a  pure  patriot. 

General  Armstrong's  plan  of  the  campaign,  sub 
mitted  to  the  President,  on  the  30th  of  April,  1814, 
left  no  doubt  that  General  Harrison  would  not  be 
assigned  a  command  in  the  active  operations  of  the 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  223 

year.  All  the  troops  in  the  eighth  military  dis 
trict,  excepting  garrisons  for  Detroit  and  Maiden, 
were  to  be  held  in  readiness  to  move  down  the 
lake  to  Buffalo,  and  General  McArthur  was  des 
ignated  for  the  command  of  those  corps,  including 
the  17th,  19th,  24th  and  28th  regiments  of  reg 
ulars.  This  arrangement  of  all  the  disposable 
force  in  the  north-west,  while  it  left  General  Harri 
son  to  remain  in  the  eighth  military  district,  was 
made  after  the  receipt  of  his  letter  at  the  War  De 
partment,  of  the  13th  of  February,  1814,  in  which  he 
expressed  his  views  and  feelings  in  regard  to  his  sus 
pension  from  his  command  of  the  north-western  army. 
That  letter  concludes  with  the  declaration,  that  apart 
from  the  considerations  of  his  duty  to  his  country,  he 
had  no  inducements  to  remain  in  the  army,  and  that 
if  the  prerogatives  of  his  rank  and  station,  as  the 
commander  of  a  district,  be  taken  from'  him,  being 
fully  convinced  that  he  could  render  no  important  ser 
vice,  he  should  much  rather  be  permitted  to  retire 
from  public  life. 

But  the  Secretary  of  War  was  not  content  with 
the  degredation  he  had  inflicted  upon  the  brave  Har 
rison,  in  withdrawing  him  from  his  command,  and 
withholding  him  from  active  service,  during  the  ap 
proaching  campaign.  He  still  persisted  in  interfering 
with  his  prerogatives,,  as  the  commander  of  the  dis 
trict.  His  next  unworthy  act  was  to  dispatch-  to 
Major  Holmes,  a  subordinate  officer  at  Detroit,,  an 
order  to  take  two  hundred  men  from  that  port,  and 


224  THE   LIFE  OP 

proceed  on  board  of  Commodore  Sinclair's  fleet, 
destined  for  Mackinac.  This  proceeding  on  the  part 
of  the  Secretary  of  War  was  a  gross  invasion  of  mili 
tary  propriety,  as  "well  as  a  direct  insult  to  General 
Harrison,  whatever  may  have  been  the  design. 

The  order  not  only  passed  by  the  General,  but 
was  also  derogatory  to  Colonel  Croghan,  the  immedi 
ate  commander  of  the  post.  The  gallant  young  offi 
cer  spoke  of  this  conduct  without  reserve,  and  in  a 
letter  to  General  Harrison,  he  wrote  as  follows  : — 
"  Major  Holmes  has  been  notified  by  the  War  De 
partment,  that  he  is  chosen  to  command  the  land  troops 
which  are  destined  to  co-operate  with  the  fleet  against 
the  enemy's  force  on  the  upper  lakes.  So  soon  as 
I  may  be  directed  by  you,  to  order  Major  Holmes  on 
that  command,  and  to  furnish  him  with  the  necessary 
troops,  I  shall  do  so.  But  not  till  then  shall  he  or 
any  other  part  of  my  force  leave  the  sod."  In  anoth 
er  letter  to  General  Harrison,  he  said,  "  I  know  not 
how  to  account  for  the  Secretary  of  War's  assuming 
to  himself  the  right  of  designating  Major  Holmes  for 
this  command  to  Mackinac.  My  ideas  on  the  subject 
may  not  be  correct,  yet  for  the  sake  of  the  principle, 
were  I  a  general,  commanding  a  district,  I  would  be 
very  far  from  suffering  the  Secretary  of  War,  or  any 
other  authority,  from  interfering  with  my  internal 
police." 

This  order  to  Major  Holmes,  would  authorize  the  in 
ference,  that  the  Secretary  of  War  may  have  had  other 
correspondence  with  him  or  other  inferior  officers  of 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  225 

the  district.  At  any  rate  it  was  a  course  of  conduct, 
the  most  insulting  and  derogatory  to  a  high  spirited, 
honorable  and  patriotic  officer,  that  could  have  been 
devised,  and  was,  besides,  both  impolitic  and  indeli 
cate.  Immediately  upon  receiving  notice  of  this 
order,  he  acted  as  any  officer,  having  a  proper  regard 
for  his  honor  would  have  done,  and  resigned  his  com 
mission  in  the  army.  Accompanying  his  resignation, 
was  a  letter  to  the.  President,  explaining  his  motives 
for  the  step  he  had  taken,  at  the  same  time  assuring 
him  of  his  continued  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the 
country,  and  personal  and  political  friendship  for 
himself. 

"  This  measure,"  he  says  "has  not  been  determin 
ed  on  without  a  reference  to  all  the  reasons  which 
should  influence  a  citizen  who  is  sincerely  attached  to 
the  honor  and  interests  of  his  country ;  who  believes 
that  the  war  in  which  we  are  engaged  is  just,  and  ne 
cessary,  and  that  the  crisis  requires  the  sacrifice  of 
every  private  consideration  which  could  stand  in  op 
position  to  the  public  good.  But  after  giving  the 
subject  the  most  mature  consideration,  I  am  perfectly 
convinced,  that  my  retiring  from  the  army  is  as  com 
patible  with  the  claims  of  patriotism  as  it  is  with 
those  of  my  family,  and  a  proper  regard  for  my  own 
feelings  and  home. 

"  I  have  no  other  motives  in  writing  this  letter, 
than  to  assure  you  that  my  resignation  was  not  pro 
duced  by  any  diminution  of  the  interest  I  have  always 
taken  in  the  success  of  your  administration,  or  of 


226  THE   LIFE  OF 

respect  and  attachment  to  your  person.  The  former 
can  only  take  place  when  I  forget  the  republican 
principles  in  which  I  have  been  educated,  and  the 
latter  when  I  shall  cease  to  regard  those  feelings 
which  must  actuate  every  honest  man,  who  is  con 
scious  of  favors  which  it  is  out  of  his  power  to  repay." 

As  soon  as  Governor  Shelby  understood  that  Gen 
eral  Harrison  had  forwarded  his  resignation,  he  ad 
dressed  a  letter  to  the  President,  urging  him  to  decline 
its  acceptance.  The  President  was  on  a  visit  to 
Virginia,  to  which  place  the  letters  from  General 
Harrison  and  Governor  Shelby  were  forwarded.  But 
that  of  the  latter  was  not  received  until  after  the  Sec 
retary  of  War,  without  the  previous  consent  of  the 
President,  had  taken  upon  himself  the  high  preroga 
tive  of  accepting  the  resignation.  President  Madison 
expressed  his  great  regretthat  the  letter  of  Governor 
Shelby  had  not  been  received  at  an  earlier  date,  as  in 
that  case  the  valuable  services  of  General  Harrison 
would  have  been  preserved  to  the  nation  in  the  ensu 
ing  campaign.* 

The  letter  from  this  venerable  man,  and  distin 
guished  soldier,  so  truly  reflected  the  public  sentiment 
of  the  times,  and  is  withal  so  highly  expressed,  and 
so  pregnant  with  patriotic  sentiments,  that  it  well  de 
serves  the  consideration  it  has  received,  and  to  be 
preserved  as  a  permanent  record  in  favor  of  the  con 
ceded  military  genius  and  pre-eminent  public  services 
of  General  Harrison.  After  stating  his  motives  for 
*  Sketches  of  Harrison. 


WILLIAM    HENRY  HARBISON.  227 

writing  to  the  President,  to  be  the  interest  he  felt 
for  our  beloved  country,  and  his  desire  to  promote  the 
public  good  bv  all  practicable  means,  he  proceeds  to 
say: — 

"It  is  not  my  intention  to  eulogize  General  Harri 
son.  He  is  not  in  need  of  that  aid  ;  his  merits  are 
too  conspicuous  not  to  be  observed.  But  it  is  my 
intention  to  express  to  you,  with  candor,  my  opinion 
of  the  general,  founded  on  personal  observation. 

"  A  rumor  has  reached  this  State  which,  from  the 
public  papers,  appears  to  be  believed,  that  the  com 
manding  general  of  the  northern  army,  may  be  re 
moved  from  that  command.  This  circumstance  has 
induced  me  to  reflect  on  the  subject,  and  to  give  a 
decided  preference  to  Major-General  Harrison,  as  his 
successor.  Having  served  a  campaign  with  him,  by 
which  I  have  been  enabled  to  form  some  opinion  of 
his  military  tactics,  and  capacity  to  command,  I 
feel  no  hesitation  to  declare  to  you,  that  I  believe  him 
to  be  one  of  the  first  military  characters  I  ever  knew; 
and,  in  addition  to  this,  he  is  capable  of  making  great 
er  personal  exertions  than  any  officer  with  whom  I 
have  ever  served.  I  doubt  not,  but  it  will  hereafter 
be  found,  that  the  command  of  the  north-western  army, 
and  the  various  duties  attached  to  it,  has  been  one  of 
the  most  arduous  and  difficult  tasks  ever  assigned  to 
any  officer  in  the  United  States  ;  yet  he  surmounted 
all. 

"  Impressed  with  the  conviction,  that  General 
Harrison  is  fully  adequate  to  the  command  of  the 


228  THE   LIFE   OF 

northern  army,  should  a  change  take  place  in  that 
division,  I  venture  thus  freely  to  state  my  opinion  of 
him,  that  he  is  a  consummate  general,  and  would  fill 
this  station  with  ability  and  honor,  and  that  if,  on  the 
other  hand,  any  arrangement  should  take  place  in  the 
war  department  which  may  produce  the  resignation  of 
General  Harrison,  it  will  be  a  misfortune  which  our 
country  will  have  cause  to  lament.  His  appointment 
to  the  command  of  the  northern  army  would  be  highly 
gratifying  to  the  wishes  of  the  western  people,  except 
some  who  may,  perhaps,  be  governed  by  sinister 
views. 

"  I  confess  the  first  impressions  on  my  mind,  when 
informed  of  the  defeat  of  Colonel  Dudley's  regiment, 
on  the  5th  of  May  last,  were  unfavorable  to  General 
Harrison's  plans.  But  on  correct  information,  and  a 
knowledge  of*  his  whole  plans,  I  have  no  doubt  but 
they  were  well  concerted,  and  might  with  certainty 
have  been  executed,  had  his  orders  been  strictly  obey 
ed.  I  mention  this  subject  because  Mr.  H.  Clay 
informed  me  that  he  had  shown  you  my  letter,  stating 
the  impressions  which  that  affair  made  on  my  mind 
on  information  that  was  not  correct/' 

Thus  was  lost  to  the  country  the  services  of  the 
•first  military  character  of  the  day — a  general  who 
never  lost  a  battle,  and  in  whom  not  only  the  army, 
but  the  whole  nation,  had  the  most  unlimited  confi 
dence.  And  this  deep  injury  was  inflicted  upon  the 
country,  from  no  other  motive,  that  has  ever  been 
discovered,  than  to  the  jealousy  of  a  small-minded 


WILLIAM   HENRY   HARRISON.  229 

and  malevolent  man.  But  while  his  attempts  to  pull 
a  great  man  down  to  his  own  level,  proved  a  signal 
failure,  he  sunk  himself  so  low  that  his  name  is 
almost  forgotten,  or  only  remembered  to  be  despised. 


THE   LIFE  OF 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

BEFORE  proceeding  with  a  record  of  General  Har 
rison's  civil  and  political  career,  it  may  be  proper  to 
complete  the  chain  of  military  events,  transpiring  in 
other  parts  of  the  country,  than  upon  the  theatre  of 
his  immediate  operations.  General  Wilkinson  had 
been  appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the  American 
forces  upon  the  resignation  of  General  Dearborne. 
The  force  under  his  command,  on  the  Niagara, 
amounted  to  eight  thousand  regulars,  besides  those 
under  General  Dearborne,  which  were  expected  to  ar 
rive  in  the  course  of  the  month  of  October.  General 
Wade  Hampton  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
army  of  the  North,  encamped  at  Plattsburgh,  and 
amounting  to  four  thousand  men. 

Extensive  preparations  had  been  made  for  the  in 
vasion  of  Canada,  by  General  Wilkinson,  and  on  the- 
2nd  of  October,  1813,  he  left  Fort  George  with  the 
principle  body  of  troops,  for  Grenadier's  Island,  a 
point  of  rendezvous  convenient  for  embarkation.  On 
the  6th  of  November,  the  army  landed  a  few  miles 
above  Fort  Prescott,  in  Canada,  on  the  St.  Lawrence. 
They  met  with  some  opposition,  and  had  frequent 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  231 

skirmishes  with  the  enemy  between  their  landing  and 
the  llth,  when  a  sharp  action  was  fought  at  a  place 
called  Chrystler's  Field.  Both  parties  claimed  the 
victory,  though,  in  reality,  neither  had  the  right  to 
claim  it,  and  it  may  properly  be  called  a  drawn  battle, 
us  the  enemy  soon  after  retired  to  their  camp,  and 
the  Americans  to  their  boats.  The  loss  of  each  was 
also  about  equal.  The  Americans  had  one  hundred 
and  two  killed,  and  three  hundred  and  thirty-nine 
wounded.  Amongst  the  wounded  was  the  brave  Gen 
eral  Covington,  who  died  two  days  after,  and  but  for 
whose  fall  the  victory  would  undoubtedly  been  with 
the  Americans.  Several  other  valuable  officers  were 
also  badly  wounded.  From  the  fact  that  the  British 
never  again  attacked  the  Americans,  it  may  not  be 
too  much  to  say  that  the  advantage  of  the  battle  was 
on  the  side  of  the  Americans. 

At  Barnhart,  where  the  army  arrived  on  the  12th, 
information  was  received  which  at  once  put  an  end 
to  all  further  designs  upon  Montreal,  the  main  object 
for  which  the  invasion  of  Canada  was  undertaken.  A 
few  days  before  the  battle  of  Chrystler's  Field,  the 
commander-in-chief  had  sent  orders  to  General  Hamp 
ton,  to  meet  him  at  St.  Regis.  But  this  order  he  de 
clined  to  execute,  owing  to  the  scantiness  of  General 
Wilkinson's  supply  of  provisions,  and  the  impossibility 
of  his  transporting  a  larger  quantity  of  provisions 
than  a  man  could  carry  on  his  back.  He  therefore 
determined  to  open  a  communication  with  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  Chateaugay.  With  a  view  to  a  readier 


232  THE   LIFE   OP 

co-operation  with  the  commander-in-chief  in  his  con 
templated  attack  upon  Montreal,  he  had  descended  the 
Chateaugay  River  from  Plattsburgh  with  the  forces 
under  his  command.  But  he  was  thwarted  in  his  at 
tempt  by  General  Provost,  and,  by  the  advice  of  his 
officers,  determined  to  retreat  to  a  place  he  had  occu 
pied  some  days  before,  called  the  Four  Corners, 
where  he  arrived  on  the  last  day  of  the  month.  Hav 
ing  by  this  movement  diverted  the  attention  of  the 
enemy  from  the  army  of  General  Wilkinson,  he  fell 
back  to  a  position  where  he  could  with  greater  facility 
make  his  way  to  the  St.  Lawrence.  It  was  from  this 
point  that  he  dispatched  the  letter  to  the  commander- 
in-chief  already  mentioned. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  this  information,  a  council  of 
officers  was  called  by  General  Wilkinson,  by  whom  it 
was  determined  that  the  objects  of  the  campaign  were 
no  longer  attainable.  It  was  therefore  resolved  to 
quit  the  Canada  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
go  into  winter  quarters  at  French  Mills,  on  Salmon 
River.  General  Hampton  followed  his  example,  and 
soon  after,  in  consequence  of  indisposition,  resigned 
his  command  to  General  Izard.  Thus  terminated 
a  campaign  which  had  excited  the  highest  expecta 
tions  of  the  country,  and  which  created  disappoint 
ment  and  dissatisfaction  in  proportion  to  these  san 
guine  hopes.  The  failure  of  the  enterprise  was 
attributed  to  inability  of  General  Hampton  to  co-op 
erate  with  General  Wilkinson,  and  the  mischievous 
interference  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  who  was  on  the 


WILLIAM   HENRY    HARRISON.  233 

ground,  superintending  the  operations  of  the  cam 
paign,  ambitious  to  prove  to  the  country  how  much 
more  competent  he  was  to  bring  the  war  to  a  glorious 
termination  than  General  Harrison,  whom  his  envy 
had  driven  from  the  service. 

Commodore  Chauncey,  meanwhile,  was  not  idle 
on  Lake  Ontario.  He  used  all  his  exertions  to  bring 
the  British  squadron,  Sir  James  Yeo,  to  an  engage 
ment,  but  was  unable  to  do  so,  owing  to  the  poor  sail 
ing  qualities  of  his  vessels.  On  the  7th  of  September, 
however,  he  got  within  sufficient  distance  of  the  ene 
my  to  open  a  running  fire  upon  him  by  which  consid 
erable  injury  was  effected.  He  then  took  refuge  in 
Amherst  Bay,  and  was  there  blockaded  until  the 
17th.  About  the  middle  of  October,  he  captured  five 
British  armed  schooners,  on  board  of  which  were  a 
considerable  number  of  soldiers.  The  same  day  the 
British  fleet  took  refuge  in  Kingston,  and  Commodore 
Chauncey  remained  master  of  the  lake  during  the  re 
mainder  of  the  season. 

On  the  19th  of  December,  the  British  surprised 
Fort  Niagara,  through  the  shameful  negligence  of 
Captain  Leonard,  the  commanding  officer,  and  put 
the  whole  garrison,  amounting  to  three  hundred,  prin 
cipally  invalids,  to  the  sword.  This  act  of  barbar 
ity  was  alleged  to  have  been  committed  in  retaliation 
for  the  burning  of  Newark,  a  village  on  the  Canada 
side  of  the  Niagara,  which  was  destroyed  a  short  time 
before.  The  destruction  of  Lewistown,  Buffalo  and 
other  places,  followed  rapidly  upon  the  heels  of  this 
20* 


234  THE   LIFE   OP 

outrage,  all  in  retaliation  for  an  act  that  had  prompt 
ly  been  disavowed  by  the  American  government.  And 
even  if  it  had  not  been,  there  was  no  further  outrage 
committed  at  Newark  than  simply  burning  the  village 
after  the  inhabitants  had  been  given  notice  to  remove 
their  effects.  Thus  virtually  closed  the  campaign  at 
the  North. 

At  the  South  the  war  was  prosecuted  during  the 
summer,  principally  by  the  Indians,  with  great  fero 
city — or  rather  they  had  began  hostilities  with  a  de 
termination  to  wage  it  to  the  knife.  They  had  been 
induced  to  declare  war,  especially  the  Creeks,  through 
the  machinations  of  the  British.  Their  first  act  of 
hostilities  was  against  Fort  Mims,  one  of  a  line  of 
posts,  that  the  inhabitants  had  hastily  thrown  up  on 
the  various  branches  of  the  Mobile.  This  place  was 
surprised  towards  the  last  of  August.  After  a  bloody 
contest,  however,  they  withdrew,  but  soon  again  re 
newed  the  attack,  the  fort  was  carried  and  every  per 
son  in  it  put  to  death.  Not  a  man,  woman,  or  child 
was  spared.  In  retaliation  for  this  wholesale  massa 
cre,  General  Coffee,  of  Tennessee,  was  sent  against  Tul- 
lushatches,  a  Creek  town,  and  two  hundred  of  the  war 
riors  were  killed,  and  three  hundred  women  and  chil 
dren  taken  prisoners.  On  the  8th  of  November,  five 
days  after,  another  action  took  place  between  General 
Coffee  and  a  large  body  of  Indians,  at  Fort  Talla- 
dega.  The  Indians  were  defeated  with  a  loss  of  about 
three  hundred  more.  On  the  17th,  he  surprised  a 
town  containing  three  hundred  warriors,  sixty  of 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  235 

whom  were  killed,  and  the  rest  taken  prisoners.  The 
Georgia  militia,  under  General  Floyd,  also  advanced 
into  the  Creek  country,  and  defeated  them  in  several 
engagements. 

On  the  17th  of  January,  1814,  General  Andrew 
Jackson,  with  a  view  of  making  a  diversion  in  favor 
of  General  Floyd,  marched  to  the  relief  of  Fort 
Armstrong.  On  the  21st,  his  camp  was  vigorously 
attacked  by  a  large  force.  But  they  were  soon  re 
pulsed,  and  compelled  to  fly.  Finding  himself  but 
poorly  supplied  with  provisions,  General  Jackson 
thought  it  advisable  to  retreat.  The  next  morning 
he  fell  into  an  ambuscade.  But  he  had  anticipated 
it,  and  made  such  admirable  arrangements  for  meeting 
it,  that  the  Indians  were  repulsed  at  great  loss.  He 
now  continued  his  retreat  without  molestation. 

General  Floyd  in  the  meanwhile  continued  his 
operations  against  the  savages.  On  the  27th  of  Jan 
uary,  he  was  attacked  at  Fort  defiance,  by  a  very 
large  body  of  them;  but  he  repulsed  them  with 
severe  loss.  Often  as  they  had  been  defeated,  how 
ever,  and  desperate  as  their  condition  seemed  to  be, 
they  determined  to  make  one  more  desperate  effort  to 
change  the  fortune  of  war ;  and  they  accordingly 
made  their  last  stand  at  a  place  called  Horse  Shoe 
Bend,  on  the  Tallapoosa  River.  Across  the  neck  of 
the  peninsula,  formed  by  the  curve  of  the  river,  they 
erected  a  breast-work,  five  feet  high,  and  of  great 
strength,  with  a  double  row  of  port-holes  artfully 
arranged.  Here  they  imagined  themselves  perfectly 


236  THE   LIFE   OP 

secure ;  but  they  were  doomed  to  a  sad  disappoint 
ment.  After  a  dreadful  conflict,  as  bloody  as  it  was 
short,  the  Indians  were  totally  defeated  and  cut  to 
pieces.  So  well  had  General  Jackson  taken  his  meas 
ures,  that  not  more  than  fifty  made  their  escape,  while 
five  hundred  and  fifty-seven  were  killed,  besides  those 
who  were  thrown  into  the  river  by  their  friends  or 
drowned  in  attempting  to  fly.  Jackson's  loss  in  killed 
was  only  forty-nine,  including  twenty-three  friendly 
Indians,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  wounded,  in 
cluding  forty-seven  friendly  Indians.  This  decisive 
victory  ended  the  Creek  war.  In  the  course  of  the 
following  summer  General  Jackson  dictated  a  peace 
to  the  Creeks,  on  severe  terms. 

The  campaign  of  1814  was  opened  at  the  North 
by  an  unsuccessful  attack,  under  General  Wilkinson, 
upon  a  considerable  body  of  British  at  La  Colle  Mill, 
three  miles  from  Rouse's  Point.  In  this  affair  the 
Americans  lost  one  hundred  and  forty  in  killed  and 
wounded.  The  disastrous  termination  of  this  attack, 
together  with  the  complete  failure  of  the  last  cam 
paign,  brought  General  Wilkinson  into  such  disrepute 
that  the  administration  yielded  to  the  popular  voice, 
and  suspended  him  from  his  command.  The  army 
was  placed  under  the  command  of  General  Izard. 
General  Wilkinson  was  subsequently  tried  and  hono 
rably  acquitted. 

A  warm  contest  was  now  begun  for  superiority  on 
Lake  Ontario.  The  British  had  commenced  the  con 
struction  of  a  large  ship  for  the  purpose  of  inclining 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  237 

it  to  their  side.  For  the  purpose  of  maintaining  as 
near  as  possible  an  equality  of  force,  Commodore 
Chauncey  had  also  commanded  the  construction  of  an 
additional  one.  Frequent  attempts  were  made  by 
each  party  to  destroy  these  vessels,  but  they  all  fail 
ed.  The  British  then  attempted  to  destroy  the  rig 
ging  designed  for  the  American  ship,  which  was  at 
Oswego.  For  this  purpose  they  made  a  desperate 
attack  on  this  place,  on  the  6th  of  May,  but  were 
gallantly  repulsed.  The  following  day  the  attack 
was  renewed  from  their  fleet,  and  two  thousand  men 
marched  under  General  De  Waterville,  who  succeeded 
in  gaining  the  shore,  though  bravely  resisted  by  Lieu 
tenant  Pierce.  The  Americans,  finding  that  further 
resistance  would  be  useless,  fell  back  to  Oswego  Fall, 
whither  the  naval  stores,  for  which  the  British  had 
been  to  so  much  trouble,  had  previously  been  remov 
ed.  The  English  lost  in  the  attack  two  hundred  and 
thirty-five  men,  in  killed  and  wounded.  To  compen 
sate  them  for  so  much  bloodrthey  obtained  the  cannon 
of  the  fort,  a  few  barrels  of  provisions,  and  some 
whiskey.  The  next  morning  the  enemy  evacuated 
the  place. 

After  an  attack  upon  Pultneyville,  in  which  they 
were  repulsed  by  General  Swift,  of  the  New  York 
militia,  the  enemy's  fleet  blockaded  Sacket's  Harbor, 
cutting  off  all  communication  between  that  port  and 
other  places  on  the  lake.  But  when  he  heard  that 
the  new  American  ship,  "  Superior,"  had  received  her 
equipment  from  the  interior,  he  raised  the  blockado 
and  returned  to  Kingston. 


238  THE   LIFE   OF 

On  the  28th  of  May,  a  large  party  of  British 
were  drawn  into  Sandy  Creek,  where  they  were  sud 
denly  attacked  by  Captain  Woolsey,  several  gun 
boats  and  articles  captured,  and  several  naval  offi 
cers,  and  one  hundred  and  thirty  men,  taken  prison 
ers.  They  had  been  sent  out  to  capture  a  quantity 
of  naval  stores,  bound  for  Oswego,  and  destined  for 
the  "  Mohawk,"  another  new  American  ship.  This  loss 
was  the  more  severe  to  the  British,  as  it  gave  the 
Americans  once  more  the  command  of  Lake  Ontario. 
This  was  the  only  event  of  much  consequence  that 
transpired  either  on  Lakes  Erie,  Ontario,  or  Cham- 
plain,  until  late  in  the  season. 

The  operations  on  land  were  of  comparatively 
little  consequence,  until  near  mid-summer,  though 
several  skirmishes  took  place,  and  some  enterprises 
in  which  great  gallantry  and  good  conduct  was  dis 
played.  In  a  skirmish  on  the  border  of  Lake  Erie, 
Major  Forsyth,  a  valuable  officer,  lost  his  life.  He 
made  an  invasion  to  Oldtown,  and  attacked  a  body  of 
British,  killing  nineteen  of  them,  but  lost  his  own  life. 
Another  affair  was  an  incursion  into  Canada,  by 
Colonel  Campbell,  who  destroyed  a  number  of  private 
dwellings,  together  with  some  mills  and  distilleries. 
For  this  act  he  was  court-martialed  and  censured. 

But  the  most  gallant  affair  that  signalized  the 
opening  of  the  campaign  was  the  defense  made  by 
Captain  Holmes  against  a  greatly  superior  force  of 
British  and  Indians.  On  the  21st  of  February,  1814, 
he  was  dispatched  by  Captain  Butler,  who  was  in 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  -^9 

command  at  Detroit,  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  rangers,  against  a  body  of  the  enemy  who  had 
assembled  at  a  village  about  fifteen  miles  from  Detroit. 
Not  knowing  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  he  took  up 
a  strong  position,  which  he  felt  confident  of  being  able 
to  defend  until  he  should  ascertain.  He  was  soon 
after  attacked  on  all  sides  by  the  British  and  Indians. 
But  he  and  his  men  defended  themselves  with  a  cour 
age,  judgment  and  resolution,  scarcely,  if  any,  inferior 
to  that  of  Fort  Stephenson  by  Major  Croghan.  After 
several  ineffectual  efforts  to  dislodge  him,  the  enemy 
finally  retreated  in  disorder,  having  lost  sixty-five  in 
killed  and  wounded,  besides  Indians. 

The  British  kept  up  a  formidable  squadron  before 
the  ports  of  New  York,  New  London  and  Boston,  and 
the  whole  eastern  coast  was  exposed  to  their  ravages. 
Eastport  was  captured  by  Sir  Thomas  Hardy,  and 
the  inhabitants  compelled  to  take  the  oath  of  allegi 
ance  to  the  British  crown.  It  was  afterwards  decided, 
however,  that  they  should  be  considered  and  treated 
as  conquered  people,  and  placed  under  a  military 
government.  The  place  was  soon  after  strongly  for 
tified,  and  remained  in  the  possession  of  the  enemy 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  During  the  summer  the 
.British  conquered,  or  rather  entered  upon  the  peace 
able  possession  of  all  that  part  of  Maine,  east  of  the 
Penobscot,  and  was,  like  Eastport,  retained  until  the 
end  of  the  war. 

Our  gallant  little  navy  won  even  higher  honors 
this  year  than  since  the  war  commenced.  Commo- 


240  THE   LIFE   OF 

dore  Porter  completed  his  successful  course  in  the 
Pacific.  From  April  until  October  1813,  he  captured 
twelve  armed  British  whale  ships,  carrying  in  all  one 
hundred  and  seven  guns,  and  three  hundred  and  two 
men.  Having  after  these  exploits  thoroughly  re 
paired  his  ship,  the  "Essex,"  he  arrived  at  Valpa 
raiso,  on  the  12th  of  January,  1814.  While  here, 
Commodore  Hillyer  arrived  off  the  harbor  in  the 
"Phoebe,"  accompanied  by  the  "Cherub,"  in  pursuit 
of  him.  After  trying  in  vain  to  bring  these  vessels 
into  action  singly,  Commodore  Porter  attempted  to 
escape.  But  he  failed  in  the  effort,  and  was  finally 
captured,  after  making  the  most  desperate  resistance 
on  record.  His  ship  was  almost  literally  cut  to  pieces, 
and  a  large  portion  of  his  crew  were  killed,  wounded 
or  missing.  He  was  permitted  to  return  to  the  Uni 
ted  States  on  parole.  But  upon  arriving  off  the  port 
of  New  York  he  was  brought  to  by  a  British  vessel, 
and  his  parole  taken  from  him.  He,  however,  suc 
ceeded  in  effecting  his  escape,  and  arrived  safely  in 
New  York. 

On  the  29th  of  April,  an  engagement  took  place 
between  the  American  sloop  of  war  "  Peacock,"  and 
the  British  brig  of  war,  "Epervier."  After  an  action 
of  forty-two  minutes  she  struck  her  flag.  In  July 
following,  the  American  sloop  of  war,  "  Wasp,"  cap 
tured  the  British  brig  "  Reindeer,"  after  a  desperate 
engagement,  in  which  the  "  Reindeer"  lost  half  her 
crew,  and  the  ship  was  nearly  destroyed.  Not  long 
after  the  "  Wasp"  had  an  engagement  with  the  British 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  241 

brig  "Avon,"  which  sunk  almost  before  her  crew 
could*  be  removed.  On  the  21st  of  September  she 
captured  another  prize,  a  British  brig  of  eighteen 
guns.  This  was  the  last  ever  heard  of  the  "  Wasp," 
or  her  gallant  commander,  and  she  undoubtedly  foun 
dered  at  sea,  carrying  down  with  her  every  soul  on 
board. 

A  single  check  to  the  almost  uninterrupted  series 
of  naval  victories,  which  had  crowned  our  efforts  at 
sea,  occurred  in  the  loss  of  the  "President,"  Commo 
dore  Decatur,  by  a  British  fleet  of  three  ships  of  war. 
But  this  loss  was  more  than  compensated  by  the 
capture  of  the  "Cayenne"  and  "Levant,"  by  the 
"  Constitution,"  Commodore  Stewart,  on  the  20th  of 
February,  1815,  and  the  capture  of  the  British  brig 
"Penguin,"  by  the  "Hornet,"  captain  Biddle. 

Several  gallant  exploits  signalized  the  American 
privateers.  Amongst  the  most  remarkable  of  these 
was  the  defense  made  by  the  privateer  "Armstrong," 
in  the  Spanish  port  of  Fayal,  where  she  had  taken 
refuge  from  a  British  squadron.  The  "Armstrong" 
was  first  attacked  by  four  boats  filled  with  men,  and 
upon  these  being  compelled  to  haul  off,  a  second  at 
tack  was  made  with  twelve  or  fourteen  boats,  manned 
by  several  hundred  men.  They  were  suffered  to  ap 
proach  almost  along  side,  when  so  destructive  a  fire 
was  opened,  that  in  forty  minutes  scarcely  a  man  of 
them  was  left.  The  next  day,  finding  it  useless  to 
continue  the  contest,  the  captain  of  the  "Arnstrong" 
removed  his  men  to  the  shore,  and  sunk  his  vessel.  For 
21 


242  THE   LIFE   OP 

her  loss  a  claim  was  preferred  by  our  government 
against  Spain,  which  came  near  involving  the  two 
countries  in  a  serious  difficulty  in  1850,  and  which  has 
but  recently  been  adjusted.  The  British  loss  amounted 
to  one  hundred  and  twenty  killed  and  one  hundred 
and  thirty  wounded. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  243 


CHAPTER    XV. 

ON  the  Niagara  frontier,  the  first  important  move 
ment  was  the  recapture  of  Fort  Erie  by  General  Scott. 
The  next  movement  was  against  General  RiaH,  who 
occupied  an  entrenched  camp  at  Chippewa.  General 
Brown  succeeded  in  drawing  the  British  General  into 
an  engagement  on  the  plains  of  Chippewa,  on  the  5th 
of  July.  The  field  was  bravely  contested  on  both 
sides,  but  the  Americans  carried  off  the  palm  of  vic 
tory  ;  and  after  an  action  of  something  over  an  hour, 
the  enemy  retired,  first,  until  he  reached  the  sloping 
ground  that  lead  to  Chippewa,  and  from  that  point  he 
fled  in  confusion  to  his  intrenchments.  In  proportion 
to  the  numbers  engaged  in  the  battle,  the  loss  on  both 
sides  was  very  severe.  That  of  the  Americans  in 
killed,  wounded  and  missing,  was  three  hundred  and 
thirty-eight.  The  total  loss  of  the  British  amounted 
to  five  hundred  and  fivev  In  this  action,  which  filled 
the  country  with  the  greatest  joy,  General  Scott  es 
pecially  distinguished  himself,  and  contributed  very 
largely  to  the  brilliant  result  of  the  battle. 

Immediately  after  this  victory,  the  American  a: 
my  moved  forward  and  encamped  at  Queenstown 
At  his  own  request,  he  was  detached  from  this  point 


244  THE   LIFE    OP 

with  one  hundred  and  twenty  men  to  reconnoiter  Fort 
George.  On  his  arrival  in  the  neighborhood  he  sur 
prised  and  captured  a  small  body  of  British,  one  of 
whom,  after  having  asked  and  received  quarter,  sud 
denly  raised  his  piece  and  mortally  wounded  General 
Swift.  He  instantly  killed  the  assassin. 

After  remaining  a  short  time  at  Queenstown,  Gen 
eral  Brown  retreated  to  Chippewa.  General  Riall 
immediately  took  post  at  that  place,  upon  the  Ameri 
can  army's  evacuating  it.  The  British  General  was 
extremely  mortified  at  the  disgraceful  defeat  he  had 
met  with  at  Chippewa,  and  was  resolved,  if  possible, 
to  retrieve  his  credit ;  and,  with  this  view,  he  had 
collected  a  large  reinforcement  from  Burlington  and 
other  points.  The  American  commander  was  not  un 
willing  to  afford  him  a  speedy  opportunity  to  prove 
his  boasted  superiority.  General  Scott  was  accord 
ingly  dispatched  towards  Queenstown.  He  discovered 
General  Riall  on  the  Niagara,  at  Lundy's  Lane,  a 
position  of  great  strength,  where  he  had  planted  a 
battery  of  nine  pieces  of  cannon.  He  was  immedi 
ately  attacked,  with  consummate  bravery,  by  General 
Scott  and  the  force  under  his  command,  though  the 
British  force  was  more  than  double  that  of  his. 

The  battle  that  followed  was  one  of  the  most 
fiercely  and  obstinately  contested  of  any  during  the 
whole  war,  or  perhaps  that  ever  was  fought.  The 
enemy  felt  that  he  had  a  shattered  reputation  to  re 
cover,  and  the  Americans  that  they  had  their  country 
and  their  honor  to  defend,  and  both  therefore  fought 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  245 

as  though  the  last  hopes  of  either  depended  upon  the 
issue.  The  action  lasted  for  several  hours,  and  only 
terminated  when  the  two  armies  had  become  so  ex 
hausted  that  they  could  fight  no  longer.  The  number 
of  the  British  engaged  in  the  action  amounted  to 
about  five  thousand,  while  the  Americans  was  less 
than  three  thousand. 

The  loss  was  about  equal  on  each  side,  that  of  the 
Americans  being  eight  hundred  and  fifty-one  in  killed 
and  wounded,  while  the  enemy's  was  eight  hundred 
and  seventy-eight,  being  a  difference  of  only  twenty- 
seven.  The  victory  was  claimed  by  the  British,  as 
usual,  but  with  little  show  of  reason.  Their  artillery 
was  captured,  and  they  were  three  times  repulsed  in 
attempting  to  recover  it,  and  were  finally  compelled 
to  abandon  them  altogether.  They  were  afterwards 
abandoned  by  the  Americans,  for  want  of  ability  to 
remove  them,  and  upon  this  circumstance  the  enemy ^ 
founded  his  claim  to  a  victory.  But  it  is  clear  that 
many  such  victories  would  have  totally  ruined  the 
British  cause  in  America.  In  the  action,  General 
Brown  and  also  General  Scott  were  badly  wounded ; 
and  the  British  General  Riall,  and  the  aid  to  General 
Drummond,  were  taken  prisoners.  The  next  day  the 
Americans  retreated  to  Fort  Erie,  having  only  fifteen 
hundred  men  left  fit  for  service,  while  the  British 
force,  who  had  received  a  reinforcement  of  one  thou 
sand,  amounted  to  five  thousand  strong. 

The  enemy  now  prepared  to  attack  Fort  Erie,  which 
was  little  more  than  an  unfinished  redoubt,  and  consid- 
21* 


246  THE   LIFE   OF 

ered  almost  indefensible.  On  the  3rd  of  August,  little 
more  than  a  week  after  the  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane, 
or  Niagara,  he  appeared  before  that  port  with  his 
whole  force,  amounting  to  more  than  five  thousand. 
On  the  night  of  August  14th,  an  assault  was  made 
upon  the  Fort.  The  enemy,  however,  were  repulsed 
at  all  points  with  great  slaughter.  Three  days  after, 
the  assault  was  renewed  with  more  ferocity  than  ever. 
On  the  28th,  having  been  in  the  meantime  considera 
bly  reinforced,  the  siege  was  continued  with  great 
zeal  until  the  17th  of  September,  when  General  Brown 
resolved  upon  making  a  sortie  for  the  purpose  of  de 
stroying  the  enemy's  works.  The  design  was  exe 
cuted,  and  proved  abundantly  successful,  and  in  a  few 
hours  the  labor  of  the  enemy  was  entirely  destroyed, 
their  cannon  captured,  and  upwards  of  a  thousand 
of  the  enemy  killed,  wounded,  and  taken  prisoners. 
This  was  so  severe  and  expensive  a  lesson  for  the 
British,  that  they  immediately  after  raised  the  siege 
and  retreated  to  Fort  George. 

Some  time  in  October,  General  Bissel  was  de 
tached  with  nine  hundred  men  to  the  enemy's  stores, 
at  Cook's  Mills,  or  Lyon's  Creek.  While  on  his 
march  to  perform  this  duty,  his  camp  was  assailed  by 
the  Marquis  of  Tweeddale,  at  the  head  of  twelve  hun 
dred  men.  But  he  met  with  so  severe  a  reception 
that  he  retreated  in  great  confusion,  after  a  brief  con 
test,  leaving  his  dead  and  wounded  in  his  flight.  Im 
mediately  after  this  repulse,  it  was  resolved  to  destroy 
Fort  Erie  and  evacuate  Upper  Canada  in  consequence 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  247 

of^  the  advanced  state  of  the  season.  This  was  ac 
cordingly  done,  and  the  American  army  went  into 
winter  quarters  at  Buffalo,  Black  Rock,  and  at  Ba- 
tavia.  Thus  ended  the  third  invasion  of  Canada. 

On  the  Atlantic  coast  and  towards  the  South, 
events  of  considerable  importance  meanwhile  had 
transpired.  The  enemy  had  for  some  time  been 
threatening  Baltimore  and  Washington,  the  defense 
of  which  was  committed  to  General  Winder.  On  the 
19th  of  August,  the  enemy,  under  General  Ross, 
landed  at  Benedict,  the  head  of  frigate  navigation  on 
the  Patuxent,  to  the  number  of  six  thousand,  and  on 
the  21st,  took  up  his  march  for  Washington,  the  point 
now  ascertained  to  be  his  destination.  The  British 
were  first  encountered  at  Bladensburgh,  and  some 
stand  made  against  them.  But  after  an  irregular  sort 
of  a  contest,  in  which  the  militia  acted  very  badly,  the 
Americans  were  defeated.  A  portion  of  the  Ameri 
can  troops,  however,  fought  with  great  bravery,  espe 
cially  the  Washington  City  and  Georgetown  militia,  as 
the  loss  of  the  British  will  attest.  Their  killed,  wound 
ed  and  missing,  on  the  occasion,  was  but  little  short  of 
one  thousand  men,  while  the  Americans  had  less  than 
one  hundred  killed,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty 
taken  prisoners. 

The  defeat  of  General  Winder  placed  the  Ameri 
can  metropolis  at  the  mercy  of  General  Ross,  and  on 
the  24th  of  August  he  arrived  in  Washington.  Imme 
diately  after  he  reached  the  city,  he  ordered  the  Pres 
ident's  house  and  the  national  capitol,  two  of  the  most 


248  THE   LIFE   OF 

beautiful  specimens  of  architecture  in  America,  to.  be 
burned.  The  great  bridge  across  the  Potomac  was 
also  destroyed.  This  act  of  Vandalism  reflected  eter 
nal  disgrace  on  the  character  of  General  Ross  and 
Admiral  Cockburn,  by  whose  order  it  was  perpe 
trated,  and  little  less  dishonor  on  the  British  name  for 
virtually  sanctioning  so  barbarous  and  wanton  an  out 
rage.  In  this  conflagration  the  valuable  library  of 
Congress  was  wholly  consumed.  All  the  public  build 
ings,  except  the  Patent  Office,  shared  the  same  fate 
as  the  Capitol  and  the  President's  House.  On  the 
following  day,  after  this  chivalrous  performance,  the 
vandal  perpetrators  retreated  from  the  city,  while  a 
small  division  of  his  army  plundered  Alexandria,  and 
committed  sundry  other  depredations.  In  one  of  their 
skirmishes  at  Moor's  Fields,  with  some  militia,  Sir 
Peter  Parker  was  mortally  wounded,  and  died  shortly 
after. 

The  capture  of  Washington  filled  fuil  to  overflow 
ing  the  cup  of  indignation  against  General  Arm 
strong,  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  he  was  soon  after 
forced  to  resign,  to  avoid  being  removed,  a  punishment 
richly  deserved  for  his  treatment  of  General  Harri 
son,  as  well  as  for  his  neglect  to  guard  against  the 
calamity  that  befel  the  Capitol. 

Active  preparations  were  now  made  for  the  de 
fense  of  Baltimore.  The  disgraceful  conduct  of  the 
British,  at  Washington,  was  received  with  one  feeling 
of  indignation  throughout  the  country,  and  all  sec 
tions  of  it  resolved  to  lay  aside  the  differences  until  they 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  249 

had  punished  the  insolent  invader.  It  was  clear  that 
the  next  object  of  attack  would  be  Baltimore,  as  on 
the  llth  of  September,  Admiral  Cockran  appeared  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Patapsco,  about  fourteen  miles  from 
that  city.  On  the  next  day,  General  Ross  landed  at 
North  Point,  at  the  head  of  six  thousand  troops,  and 
took  up  his  march  for  Baltimore.  An  action  took 
place  the  same  day,  in  which  the  Americans  were 
worsted,  and  compelled  to  retreat,  though  the  British 
General  Ross  was  killed.  The  next  day  the  British 
appeared  before  Baltimore,  in  front  of  the  Ameri 
can  lines.  On  the  13th,  the  enemy  had  brought  six 
teen  pieces  of  cannon  within  a  sufficient  distance  of 
Fort  McHenry,  which  commanded  the  entrance  to 
the  harbor,  to  commence  a  tremendous  bombardment, 
which  continued  until  the  next  morning.  Having  sig 
nally  failed  in  their  attack  upon  the  fort,  all  further 
attempt  upon  Baltimore  was  abandoned,  and  the 
enemy  commenced  a  retreat  even  while  the  bombard 
ment  was  continued. 

Admiral  Cockran  soon  after  retired  to  the  West 
Indies  with  his  whole  fleet,  with  the  view  of  awaiting 
reinforcements  from  England.  He  not  only  abandon 
ed  the  idea  for  the  present  of  attacking  any  other 
cities  or  large  towns,  but  withdrew  all  the  vessels  of 
his  squadron  which  had  been  engaged  in  marauding 
expeditions  into  the  country  along  the  coast. 

The  operations  of  the  American  army  at  the  North 
were  attended  with  some  results  of  a  most  brilliant 
character.  At  the  beginning  of  September,  the  Brit- 


250       .  THE  LIFE  OP 

ish  invaded  New  York,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying 
the  American  army  at  Plattsburgh,  and  the  subjuga 
tion  of  the  country  as  far  as  Crown  Point  and  Ticon- 
deroga.  Early  in  September  the  enemy  occupied 
Plattsburgh,  opposite  the  American  works,  where  they 
calmly  awaited  the  co-operation  of  the  British  fleet 
on  Lake  Champlain.  But  the  fleet  soon  found  other 
matters  to  attend  to  than  aiding  to  capture  the  Amer 
ican  army.  On  the  llth  of  September  the  Amer 
ican  fleet,  under  Commodore  McDonough,  and  the 
British  fleet  under  Captain  Downie,  were*  moored 
abreast  of  each  other  in  Cumberland  Bay.  The  num 
ber  of  guns  in  the  battle  amounted  to  ninety-five,  and 
one  thousand  men,  while  in  the  American  fleet  the 
number  of  guns  was  only  eighty-six,  and  eight  hun 
dred  men.  The  action  commenced  a  little  past  nine 
o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  the  llth,  and  continued  to 
rage  for  two  hours,  when  the  guns  of  the  enemy  were 
silenced,  and  most  of  his  vessels  surrendered  to  Com 
modore  McDonough.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  was 
fifty-two  killed  and  fifty-eight  wounded  ;  and  that  of 
the  enemy  eighty-four  killed  and  one  hundred  and 
ten  wounded. 

About  the  same  time  the  action  between  the  two 
fleets  commenced ;  the  British  General  at  Plattsburgh 
commenced  a  vigorous  bombardment  upon  the  Amer 
ican  works,  which  was  returned  with  equal  vigor  by 
the  Americans.  The  action  continued  until  dusk. 
But  after  witnessing  the  surrender  of  their  fleet  on 
the  lake,  their  efforts  somewhat  slackened,  and,  as 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  251 

soon  as  night  set  in,  they  commenced  a  hasty  retreat, 
leaving  behind  their  sick  and  wounded,  besides  a  large 
quantity  of  military  stores.  The  loss  of  the  British 
in  killed,  wounded* and  deserters,  in  this  action, 
was  fifteen  hundred,  and  their  loss  in  the  naval  action 
was  little  less  than  a  thousand  men.  The  American 
loss  was  very  trifling,  compared  with  that  of  the  en 
emy.  By  the  glorious  termination  of  these  two  ac 
tions,  the  Americans  obtained  the  complete  command 
of  Lake  Champlain,  and  the  British  invasion  of  New 
York  was  happily  defeated.  With  the  defeat  of  het 
enemy  at  Plattsburgh,  and  the  entire  destruction  of  his 
fleet  on  the  lake,  closed  the  campaign  and -the  war  at 
the  North. 

While  these  events  were  taking  place  at  the  North, 
and  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  the  war  was  prosecuted 
with  vigor  at  the  South.  In  the  month  of  August, 
several  British  ships  of  war  arrived  at  Pensacola,  then 
a  Spanish  port,  and  took  possession  of  the  forts 
with  the  assent  of  the  authorities,  and  fitted  out  an 
expedition  against  Fort  Bowyer  or  Mobile  Bay,  and 
commanding  its  harbor.  But  after  the  loss  of  a  ship 
of  war,  and  a  large  number  of  men,  the  armament  re 
turned  to  Pensacola.  General  Jackson,  who  then  com 
manded  at  the  South,  after  having  in  vain  remonstra 
ted  with  the  authorities  for  affording  shelter  to  tho 
enemies  of  the  United  States,  marched  against  the 
town,  captured  it,  and  compelled  the  British  to  evac 
uate  Florida.  Upon  returning  from  this  enterprise, 
he  ascertained  that  the  enemy  wafc  making  extensive 


252  THE   LIFE   OP 

preparations  for  invading  Louisiana,  and  attacking 
New  Orleans.  He  immediately  repaired  to  that  city, 
and  by  his  energetic  efforts  put  it  in  a  complete  state  of 
defense,  restored  confidence  amongst  the  citizens,  or 
ganized  the  militia,  and  finally  proclaimed  martial  law, 
a  measure  justified  by  necessity,  though  clearly  a  vio 
lation  of  the  constitution. 

On  the  5th  of  December,  a  large  British  squadron 
appeared  off  the  harbor  of  Pensacola,  and  on  the 
10th,  entered  Lake  Borgue,  the  nearest  avenue  of 
approach  to  New  Orleans.  Here  a  small  squadron 
of  American  gun-boats  was  attacked,  and  after  a 
brave  resistance  compelled  to  surrender.  On  the 
22nd  of  the  same  month,  two  thousand  five  hundred 
of  the  enemy  reached  the  Mississippi,  nine  miles  be 
low  New  Orleans.  Here  they  were  surprised  and  lost 
four  hundred  men,  though  they  succeeded  in  repelling 
the  attack.  General  Jackson  now  retired  to  his  in- 
trenchments,  which  were  vigorously  cannonaded  on 
the  28th  of  December,  and  the  1st  of  January,  but 
without  success. 

General  Packenham,  the  British  Commander-in- 
chief,  however,  advanced  with  his  whole  force,  amount 
ing  to  twelve  thousand  men,  against  the  American 
lines  on  the  8th  of  January,  1815. 
^  Entrenched  behind  his  breastwork  of  cotton  bales, 
General  Jackson,  at  the  head  of  six  thousand  troops, 
principally  militia,  calmly  awaited  the  onset  of  this 
vastly  superior  force,  reserving  his  fire  until  the  en 
emy  should  approach  within  reach  of  his  battery. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  253 

Then,  however,  he  opened  upon  them  a  most  terribly 
destructive  fire  from  his  cannons,  cutting  wide  open 
ings  in  their  ranks.  But  they  continued  steadily  to 
advance,  until  within  reach  of  the  American  mus 
ketry  and  rifles,  when  even  a  more  fatal  shower  of 
balls  was  poured  in  upon  them  than  from  the  batter 
ies,  and  they  were  literally  mowed  down  by  scores 
and  by  hundreds.  The  plain  was  covered  with  the 
dead  and  dying,  and  the  enemy  finally  gave  way. 
No  flesh  and  blood  could  stand  such  dreadful  volleys. 
In  attempting  to  rally  them,  General  Peckenham  was 
killed,  and  General  Gibbs,  the  second  in  command, 
fell  mortally  wounded,  and  General  Keene  severely. 
The  enemy  now  fled  in  the  wildest  confusion  from 
this  certain  death,  and  no  attempt  was  made  to  rally 
them  a  second  time.  General  Lambert,  upon  whom 
the  command  now  devolved,  therefore  retreated  to 
his  camp,  leaving  seven  hundred  dead  on  the  field, 
and  one  thousand  wounded.  The  Americans  lost  six 
in  killed  and  seven  wounded.  The  whole  British 
army,  immediately  after  this  terrible  defeat,  hastily 
withdrew  to  their  ships.  In  this  whole  expedition 
the  British  loss  amounted  to  full  three  thousand  men. 
The  battle  of  New  Orleans  was  the  only  action  of  any 
importance  that  was  fought,  and  may  be  said  to  have 
ended  the  war  in  a  blaze  of  glory,  as  it  ended  the. 
campaign  at  the  South,  as  Plattsburgh  and  Cham- 
plain  had  at  the  North.  News  of  the  peace  which 
was  concluded  by  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  on  the  24th  of 
22 


254  THE  LIFE  OP 

December,  1814,  was  soon  after  received,  and  hostil 
ities  ceased. 

The  commissioners  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain, 
by  whom  the  treaty  was  concluded,  were  Lord  Gam- 
bier,  Henry  Goulburn  and  William  Adams ;  and  John 
Quincy  Adams,  James  R.  Bayard,  Henry  Clay,  Jon 
athan  Bissel  and  Albert  Gallatin,  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States.  According  to  its  stipulations,  all 
places  taken  during  the  war,  or  after  the  signing  of 
the  treaty,  were  to  be  mutually  restored,  and  all  cap 
tures  at  sea  made  with  a  certain  time  thereafter,  ac 
cording  to  the  latitude  in  which  they  were  made. 
Every  attempt  was  to  be  made  by  the  two  govern 
ments  to  put  a  stop  to  Indian  hostilities,  and  to 
extinguish  the  traffick  in  slaves.  The  greater  part  of 
the  treaty,  however,  related  to  the  adjustment  of  the 
boundaries  between  the  United  States  and  the  British 
territories,  which  were  imperfectly  denned  by  the 
treaty  of  1783.  The  subject  of  impressment,  which 
was  one  of  the  leading  causes  of  the  war,  paper  block 
ades,  orders  in  council,  and  the  rights  of  neutral  flags, 
were  passed  over  in  silence. 

But  though  these  questions  were  left  unsettled, 
the  right  of  impressment  was  virtually  abandoned  by 
the  British  Government,  and  has  never  been  asserted 
since  she  had  been  made  to  feel  our  strength,  and  to 
respect  our  power.  Especially  had  she  been  taught 
that  she  was  no  longer  the  undisputed  mistress  of  the 
seas.  The  loss  of  two  thousand  merchant  ships,  the 
many  millions  added  to  her  public  debt,  the  numer- 


WILLIAM    HENRY  HARRISON.  255 

ous  vessels  of  war  that  had  been  compelled  to  strike 
their  flags  to  the  Americans,  as  well  as  the  battles  of 
the  Thames,  Queenstown,  Chippewa,  Niagara,  Platts- 
burgh,  New  Orleans,  and  numerous  other  bloody  fields, 
had  effectually  checked  her  insolent  bearing  towards 
the  United  States.  It  is  probably  the  last  attemp 
that  Great  Britain  will  make  to  recover  the  "jewel" 
that  was  torn  from  the  crown  of  George  III,  by  his 
own  folly  and  the  wickedness  of  his  ministers. 

The  history  of  General  Harrison's  career  will  now 
be  resumed. 


256  THE    MFE  Of 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

UPON  resigning  his  commission  in  the  army,  for 
causes  which  have  been  fully  explained,  and  which 
amply  justified  him  in  the  eyes  of  the  country,  he  retir 
ed  to  his  farm  at  North  Bend,  fifteen  miles  below  Cin 
cinnati,  in  1814.  Here  he  resumed  those  peaceful  pur 
suits  which  were  so  much  more  congenial  to  his  tastes 
and  inclinations  than  the  strife  and  turmoil  of  war.  If 
he  had  preferred  his  own  interests  to  that  of  his  coun 
try,  he  might  have  retained  his  position  in  the  army, 
and  continued  to  receive  the  emoluments  attached  to 
his  command  of  the  eighth  military  division.  But 
when  he  could  no  longer  render  active  service  to  the 
country,  he  refused  the  reception  of  pay  for  services 
not  permitted  to  be  performed,  as  he  had  previously 
upon  the  peace  of  Greenville. 

He  was  not  long  suffered  to  remain  in  seclusion, 
however.  During  the  summer  of  the  same  year  he  was 
appointed,  in  connection  with  General  Cass  and  Gen 
eral  Adair,  to  treat  with  some  of  the  tribes  of  north 
western  Indians,  with  whom  a  treaty  was  soon  after 
concluded  at  Greenville.  The  following  year  he  was 
appointed  at  the  head  of  another  commission,  and 
concluded  a  treaty  at  Detroit  with  nine  important 


WILLIAM   HENRY   HARRISON.  257 

tribes,  which  were  highly  advantageous  to  the  United 
States.  In  1816,  other  and  still  more  important  and 
honorable  duties  awaited  him.  He  was  during  that 
year  nominated  as  a  candidate  for  Congress,  in  the 
district  in  which  he  resided,  and  though  he  had  six 
competitors  for  the  same  office,  he  had  an  aggregate 
majority  over  all  of  them  of  one  thousand.  He  was 
elected  to  succeed  the  Honorable  John  McLean,  who 
had  resigned  the  office  shortly  before.  No  stronger 
evidence  of  the  strong  hold  General  Harrison  had 
upon  the  affections  of  the  western  people,  and  how 
little  the  unjust  treatment  he  had  received  at  the 
hands  of  General  Armstrong  had  affected  him  in  their 
estimation  can  be  had  than  this  triumphant  endorse 
ment  of  his  character  and  patriotism  by  those  most 
competent  to  judge  of  each. 

While  a  member  of  Congress,  and  shortly  after  he 
took  his  seat,  a  charge  was  made  against  him  by  an 
army  contractor,  whose  high  expectations  of  large 
profits  were  blighted  by  his  rigid  supervision  of  the 
commissary's  department,  of  misconduct  or  improper 
connection  with  that  department  while  in  command  of 
the  army  at  the  West.  General  Harrison  boldly  met 
the  charge,  and  demanded  an  investigation.  A  com 
mittee  was  accordingly  appointed,  at  the  head  of 
whom  was  Colonel  Richard  M.  Johnson,  and  after  a 
thorough  and  impartial  investigation,  a  report  was 
made  by  him  on  the  23rd  of  January,  1817,  in  which 
they  say,  that  "  The  committee  are  unanimously  of 
opinion  that  General  Harrison  stands  above  suspicion 
22* 


258  THE   LIFE    OF 

as  to  his  having  had  any  pecuniary  or  improper  con 
nection  with  the  officers  of  the  commissariat  for 
the  supply  of  the  army ;  that  he  did  not  wantonly 
or  improperly  interfere  with  the  rights  of  contractors, 
and  that  he  was,  in  his  measures,  governed  by  a  proper 
zeal  and  devotion  to  the  public  interests." 

When  this  report  was  read,  Mr.  Hulbert  of  Mas 
sachusetts,  who  was  a  member  of  the  committee,  said, 
that  he  as  well  as  the  committee  considered  the  sub 
ject  an  important  one,  as  well  as  interesting  to  the 
public,  and  especially  so  to  General  Harrison.  The 
character  of  that  gentleman  had  been  impeached,  and 
the  committee,  therefore,  determined  to  make  the  in 
vestigation  as  full  and  thorough  as  should  be  in  their 
power.  They  had  received  the  testimony  of  the  gen 
tleman  who  made  the  charge,  had  read  and  considered 
all  the  documents  and  papers  they  could  obtain,  and 
had  examined  many  respectable  witnesses ;  after  all 
this  the  investigation  resulted  in  a  firm  conviction  and 
unanimous  opinion  of  the  committee,  that  the  insinu 
ations  and  complaints  that  had  been  made  against 
General  Harrison  were  unmerited,  groundless  and  un 
just. 

Mr.  Hulbert  said^  it  gave  him  pleasure  to  make 
these  declarations,  as  he  considered  himself  doing  an 
act  of  justice  to  an  individual.  He  admitted  that  he 
had  entered  upon  the  investigation  with  impressions 
very  unfavorable  to  General  Harrison.  The  com 
plaint  which  had- been  made  against  him  had  spread 
far  and  wide.  The  bane  and  the  antidote  had  not 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  259" 

gone  together.  He  rejoiced  that  this  investigation 
had  been  made,  and  he  had  no  hesitation  in  saying, 
that  so  far  as  the  report  of  the  committee  should  de 
fend  the  character  and  conduct  of  General  Harrison 
before  the  public,  it  would  promote  the  cause  of  truth 
and  justice.  In  regard  to  the  charge  of  oppressive 
and  unjust  conduct  towards  the  contractors  in  the 
army  under  his  command,  he  was  entirely  satisfied 
that  he  had  interfered  only  in  those  cases  where  he 
thought  his  duty  to  the  public  imperiously  demand 
ed  it. ' 

The  most  serious  charge  that  had  been  preferred 
against  General  Harrison  was  that,  while  he  was  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  north-western  army,  regardless 
of  his  country's  good,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  managing 
the  public  concerns  with  a  view  to  his  own  private  in 
terests.  This,  Mr.  Hulbert  said,  he  could  not  re 
frain  from  pronouncing  a  false  and  cruel  accusation, 
and  that  there  was  the  most  satisfactory  evidence  that 
he  had,  in  the  exercise  of  his  official  duties,  and  in  his 
devotion  to  the  public  interests,  neglected  his  private 
concerns  to  his  material  detriment  and  injury.  In  a 
word,  he  added,  he  felt  himself  authorized  to  say, 
that  every  member  of  the  committee  was  fully  satis 
fied  that  the  conduct  of  General  Harrison,  in  relation 
to  the  matter  under  inquiry,  had  been  that  of  a  brave, 
honest  and  honorable  man,  and  that  instead  of  de 
serving  censure,  he  merited  the  thanks  and  applause 
of  his  country. 

At  a  subsequent  state  of  the  inquiry,  the  matter 


260  THE   LIFE   OF 

was  referred  to  the. Secretary  of  War,  who  reported 
that  General  Harrison  had  been  guilty  of  no  impro 
priety  of  conduct ;  that  upwards  of  a  million  and  a 
half  of  dollars  had  passed  through  his  hands,  during 
the  war,  no  part  of  which  had  been  applied  to  his  own 
use;  that  from  the  evidence  furnished  him,  it  ap 
peared  that  General  Harrison  was  poorer  at  the  end 
of  the  war  than  he  was  at  the  beginning  of  it. 

On  the  6th  of  December,  four  days  after  he  took 
his  seat  jm.  Congress,  and  previous  to  the  investiga 
tion  into  the  charges  against  his  official  conduct,  he 
offered  a  resolution  instructing  the  military  committee 
to  enquire  into  the  expediency  of  providing  by  law 
for  the  relief  of  such  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  who, 
having  faithfully  served  in  the  armies  of  the  United 
States,  are  now  in  distressed  circumstances,  and  who, 
not  having  received  wounds  or  disabilities  whilst  in 
actual  service,  are  excluded  from  the  benefits  of  the 
pension  laws,  and  that  the  said  committee  report  by 
bill  or  otherwise.  This  resolution  led  the  way  for  an 
act  of  justice  to  those  who  had  sacrificed  some  of  their 
best  years  in  the  service  of  the  country,  and  thus,  in 
many  instances,  entirely  blighted  their  worldly  pros 
pects,  but  who  had  hitherto  been  entirely  neglected 
by  their  government,  because  they  had  not  the  good 
fortune  to  lose  a  leg  or  an  arm. 

On  the  30th  of  January,  on  his  motion,  the  mili 
tary  committee  yas  instructed  to  enquire  into  the  ex 
pediency  of  granting  a  bounty  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  land  to  all  non-commissioned  officers 


WILLIAM   HENRY    HARRISON.  261 

and  soldiers  of  the  army,  who,  having  been  enlisted 
previous  to  the  24th  of  December,  1811,  are  not  enti 
tled  to  said  bounty,  but  who,  having  served  faithfully 
through  said  war,  have  obtained  an  honorable  dis 
charge.  These  two  propositions  were  the  foundation 
of  a  system  of  legislation  that  has  resulted  in  a  vast 
benefit  not  only  to  a  large  class  of  soldiers,  but"  to  the 
widows  and  orphans  of  those  who  had  perished  gal 
lantly  fighting  in  defense  of  their  country. 

At  the  following  session  a  bill  was  introduced  to 
increase  the  pay  of  members  of  Congress  from  six  to 
nine  dollars  a  day.  In  discussing  a  proposition  to 
strike  out  six  and  insert  nine,  which  took  place  on  the 
6th  of  January,  181$,  General  Harrison  said  that  in 
explaining  what  would  otherwise  appear  an  inconsist 
ency  in  the  vote  he  was  about  to  give,  he  was  aware 
that  in  order  to  preserve  in  Congress  talents  of  a 
proper  grade,  and  to  enable  men  of  moderate  property 
to  come  to  Congress  without  loss,  a  higher  compensa 
tion  was  necessary  than  had  heretofore  been  allowed 
to  members  of  Congress.  But,  notwithstanding  he 
entertained  these  views,  he  was  opposed  to  increasing 
the  pay  of  members  until  they  had  done  justice  to 
others  whose  claims  were  much  stronger.  Whenever 
justice  should  be  done  to  sufferers  in  the  war  of  the 
revolution,  he  should  be  willing  to  vote  for  the  meas 
ure  in  question,  and  not  till  then.  The  revolutionary 
pension  bill  became  a  law  before  the  close  of  the 
session. 

This  bill  being  under  discussion  the  next  day,  on 


262 


THE    LIFE   Of 


its  third  reading,  General  Harrison  said  he  was 
persuaded  that  the  members  of  the  House,  who  had 
voted  for  a  compensation  beyond  the  ancient  allow 
ance  of  six  dollars,  had  voted  under  great  embarrass 
ment,  possessed  as  they  were  on  the  one  hand  by  a 
sense  of  duty  and  justice,  and  on  the  other  by  that 
delicacy  which  must  be  felt  when  they  were  acting  as 
judges  in  their  own  case.  He  thought,  however,  that 
there  was  a  mode  by  which  their  feelings  might  be 
saved,  and  which,  if  adopted,  would  be  as  highly  ac 
ceptable  to  them  as  it  would  be  honorable  to  their 
.representatives.  It  would  evince  a  disinterestedness 
and  magnanimity  which  could  not  fail  to  produce  the 
most  happy  effects,  and  finally  fix  the  compensation 
at  the  sum  which  their  disinterested  judgment  should 
deem  right.  Being  satisfied  that  it  was  a  question  to 
be  determined  rather  by  feeling  than  argument,  he 
would  simply  submit  a  resolution  to  re-commit  the 
bill,  with  instructions  to  amend  it  so  far  as  to  fix  the 
compensation  for  the  present  Congress  at  six  dollars, 
and  for  the  ensuing  Congress  at  eight  dollars.  The 
motion,  however,  was  lost  and  the  bill  passed. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  of  the  same  Congress, 
General  Harrison  introduced  a  resolution,  providing 
that  a  committee  be  appointed  jointly  with  such  com 
mittee  as  may  be  appointed  by  the  Senate,  to  con 
sider  and  report  what  measures  it  may  be  proper  to 
adopt  to  manifest  the  public  respect  for  the  memory 
of  General  Thaddeus  Kosciusko,  formerly  an  officer 
in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  and  the  uniform 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  263 

and  distinguished  friend  of  liberty  and  the  rights  of 
man.  Upon  this  resolution  he  made  the  following 
admirable  remarks : — 

"  The  public  papers  have  announced  an  event  which 
is  well  calculated  to  excite  the  sympathy  of  every 
American  bosom.  Kosciusko,  the  martyr  of  liberty, 
is  no  more !  We  are  informed  that  he  died  at  So- 
leure,  in  France,  some  time  in  October  last.  In 
tracing  the  events  orthis  grea*t  man's  life,  we  find  in 
him  that  consistency  of  conduct  which  is  the  more  to 
to  be  admired  as  it  is  so  rarely  to  be  met  with.  He 
was  not  at  one  time  the  friend  of  mankind,  and  at 
another  the  instrument  of  their  oppressions,  but  he  pre 
served  throughout  his  whole  career  those  noble  prin 
ciples  which  distinguished  him  in  its  commence 
ment,  which  influenced  him  at  an  early  period  of  his 
life  to  leave  his  country  and  his  friends,  and  in  an 
other  hemisphere,  to  fight  for  the  rights  of  humanity. 

"  Kosciusko  was  born  and  educated  in  Poland,  of  a 
noble  and  distinguished  family,  a  country  where  the 
distinctions  in  society  are  perhaps  carried  to  greater 
lengths  than  in  any  other.  His  creator  had,  how 
ever,  endowed  him  with  a  soul  capable  of  rising  above 
the  narrower  prejudices  of  caste,  and  of  breaking  the 
shackles  which  a  vicious  education  had  imposed  on 
his  mind.  When  very  young  he  was  informed  by  the 
voice  of  fame  that  the  standard  of  liberty  had  been 
erected  in  America ;  that  an  insulted  and  oppressed 
people  had  determined  to  be  free  or  perish  in  the 
attempt.  His  ardent  and  generous  mind  caught  with 


264  THE   LIFE   OF 

enthusiasm  the  holy  flame,  and  frem  that  moment  he 
became  the  devoted  soldier  of  liberty. 

"  His  rank  in  the  American  army  afforded  him  no 
opportunity  greatly  to  distinguish  himself.  But  he 
was  remarked  throughout  his  service  for  all  the  qual 
ities  which  adorn  the  human  character.  His  heroic 
conduct  in  the  field  could  only  be  equaled  by  his 
moderation  and  affability  in  the  walks  of  private  life. 
He  was  idolized  by  the  soldiers  Ifor  his  bravery,  and 
beloved  and  respected  by  the  officers  for  the  goodness 
of  his  heart,  and  the  great  qualities  of  his  mind. 
Contributing  greatly  by  his  exertions  to  the  establish 
ment  of  the  independence  of  America,  he  might  have 
remained  and  shared  the  blessings  it  dispensed,  under 
the  protection  of  a  chief  who  loved  and  honored  him, 
and  in  the  bosom  of  a  grateful  and  affectionate  people. 

"  Kosciusko,  however,  had  other  views.  It  is  not 
known  that,  until  the  period  I  am  now  speaking  of, 
he  had  formed  any  distinct  idea  of  what  could,  or 
indeed  what  ought  to  be  done  for  his  own.  But  in 
the  revolutionary  war  he  drank  deeply  of  the  princi 
ples  that  produced  it.  In  his  conversations  with  the 
intelligent  men  of  our  country,  he  acquired  new  views 
of  the  science  of  government  and  the  rights  of  man. 
He  had  seen,  too,  that  to  be  free,  it  was  only  neces 
sary  that  a  nation  should  will  it,  and  to  be  happy,  it 
was  only  necessary  that  a  nation  should  be  free. 
And  was  it  not  possible  to  procure  these  blessings  for 
Poland  ?  For  Poland,  the  country  of  his  birth,  which 
had  a  claim  to  all  his  efforts,  to  all  his  services  ?  That 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  265 

unhappy  nation  groaned  under  a  complication  of  evils, 
which  has  scarcely  a  parallel  in  history.  The  mass 
of  the  people  were  the  abject  slaves  of  the  nobles ; 
the  nobles,  torn  into  factions,  were  alternately  the  in 
struments  and  the  victims'  of  their  powerful  and  am 
bitious  neighbors.  By  intrigue,  corruption  and  force, 
some  of  its  fairest  provinces  had  been  separated  from 
the  republic,  and  people,  like  beasts,  transferred  to 
foreign  despots,  who  were  again  watching  for  a  favor 
able  moment  for  a  second  dismemberment.  To  regu 
late  a  people  thus  debased,  to  obtain  for  a  country 
thus  circumstanced  the  blessings  of  liberty  and  inde 
pendence,  was  a  work  of  as  much  difficulty  as  danger. 
But  to  a  mind  like  Kosciusko's,  the  difficulty  and 
danger  of  an  enterprise  served  as  stimulants  to  under 
take  it. 

"  The  annals  of  those  times  give  us  no  detailed  ac 
counts  of  the  progress  of  Kosciusko  in  accomplishing 
his  great  work,  from  the  period  of  his  return  from 
America  to  the  adoption  of  the  new  constitution  of 
Poland,  in  1791.  This  interval,  however,  of  apparent 
inaction  was  most  usefully  employed  to  illumine  the 
mental  darkness  which  enveloped  his  countrymen. 
To  stimulate  the  ignorant  and  bigoted  peasantry  with 
the  hope  of  future  emancipation — to  teach  a  proud 
but  gallant  nobility  that  true  glory  is  only  to  be  found 
in  the  paths  of  glory  and  patriotism — interests  the 
most  opposed,  prejudices  the  most  stubborn,  and 
habits  the  most  inveterate  were  reconciled,  dissipated, 
and  broken  by  the  ascendency  of  his  virtues  and  ex- 
23 


266  THE   LIFE    OF 

ample.  The  storm  which  he  had  foreseen,  and  for 
which  he  had  been  preparing,  at  length  burst  upon 
Poland.  A  feeble  and  unpopular  government  bent 
before  its  fury,  and  submitted  itself  to  the  Russian 
yoke  of  the  invader.  But  the  nation  disdained  to 
follow  its  example ;  in  their  extremity  every  eye  was 
turned  on  the  hero  who  had  already  fought  their 
battles — the  sage  who  had  enlightened  them,  and  the 
patriot  who  had  set  the  example  of  personal  sacrifices 
to  accomplish  the  emancipation  of  the  people. 

"  Kosciusko  was  unanimously  appointed  Generalis 
simo  of  Polan<J,  with  unlimited  powers,  until  the  en 
emy  should  be  driven  from  the  country.  On  his 
virtue  the  nation  reposed  with  the  utmost  confidence ; 
and  it  is  some  consolation  to  reflect,  amid  the  general 
depravity  of  mankind,  that  two  instances  in  the  same 
age  have  occurred  where  powers  of  this  kind  were 
employed  solely  for  the  purposes  for  which  they  were 
given. 

"It  is  not  my  intention,  Sir,  to  follow  the  Polish 
chief  throughout  the  career  of  victory  which  for  a 
considerable  time  crowned  his  efforts.  Guided  by  his 
talents,  and  led  by  his  valor,  his  undisciplined,  poorly 
armed  militia  charged  with  effect  the  veteran  Russians 
and  Prussians  ;  the  mailed  cuirassiers  of  the  great 
Frederick,  for  the  first  time,  broke  and  fled  before  the 
lighter  and  more  appropriate  cavalry  of  Poland.  Hope 
filled  the  breasts  of  the  patriots.  After  a  long  night 
the  dawn  of  an  apparently  glorious  day  broke  upon 
Poland.  But  to  the  discerning  eye  of  Kosciusko,  the 


WILLIAM   HENRY    HARRISON.  267 

light  which  it  shed  was  of  that  sickly  and  porten 
tous  appearance  indicating  a  storm  more  dreadful 
than  that  which  he  had  resisted. 

"  He  prepared  to  meet  it  with  firmness,  but  with 
means  entirely  inadequate.  To  the  advantages  of 
numbers,  of  tactics,  of  discipline  and  inexhaustible 
resources,  the  cornelian  despots  had  secured  a  faction 
in  the  heart  of  Poland,  and  if  that  country  can  boast 
of  having  produced  its  Washington,  it  is  disgraced 
also  by  giving  birth  to  a  second  Arnold.  The  day  at 
length  came  which  was  to  decide  the  fate  of  a  nation 
and  a  hero.  Heaven  for  wise  purposes  determined 
that  it  should  be  the  last  of  Polish  liberty.  It  was 
decided,  indeed,  before  the  battle  commenced.  The 
traitor  Pouiski,  who  covered  with  a  detachment  the 
advance  of  the  Polish  army,  abandoned  his  .position 
to  the  enemy  and  retreated. 

"  Kosciusko  was  astonished  but  not  discouraged. 
The  disposition  of  his  army  would  have  done  honor 
to  Hannibal.  The  succeeding  conflict  was  terrible. 
When  the  tablets  of  the  General  could  no  longer  di 
rect  the  mingled  mass  of  combatants,  the  arm  of  the 
warrior  was  brought  to  the  aid  of  his  soldiers.  He 
performed  prodigies  of  valor.  The  feeble  powers  of 
Ajax  in  defending  the  Grecian  ships  was  realized  by 
the  Polish  hero ;  nor  was  he  badly  seconded  by  his 
troops.  As  long  as  his  voice  could  guide,  or  his 
example  fire  their  valor,  they  were  irresistible.  In 
this  unequal  contest  Kosciusko  was  long  seen,  and 
finally  lost  to  their  vision. 


268  THE   LIFE    OP 

'  Hope  for  a  season  bade  the  world  farewell, 
And  freedom  shrieked  as  Kosciusko  fell.' 

"  He  fell  covered  with  wounds,  but  still  survived. 
A  Cossack  would  have  pierced  his  breast,  when  an  offi 
cer  interposed.  '  Suffer  him  to  execute  his  purpose,' 
said  the  bleeding  hero.  '  I  am  the  devoted  soldier 
of  my  country,  and  will  not  survive  its  liberties.' 
The  name  of  Kosciusko  struck  to  the  heart  of  the 
Tartar  like  that  of  Marius  upon  the  Cimbrian  war 
rior.  The  uplifted  weapon  dropped  from  his  hand. 

"  Kosciusko  was  conveyed  to  the  dungeons  of  Pe- 
tersburgh — and,  to  the  eternal  disgrace  of  the  Em 
press  Catharine,  she  made  him  the  object  of  her 
vengeance,  when  he  could  no  longer  be  the  object  of 
her  fears.  Her  more  generous  son  restored  him  to 
liberty.  The  remainder  of  his  life  has  been  spent  in 
virtuous  retirement.  Whilst  in  this  situation  in 
France,  an  anecdote  is  related  of  him  which  strongly 
illustrates  the  command  which  his  virtues  and  his 
services  had  obtained  over  the  minds  of  his  coun 
trymen. 

"  In  the  late  invasion  of  France,  some  Polish  regi 
ments,  in  the  service  of  Russia,  passed  through  the 
village  in  which  he  lived.  Some  pillaging  of  the 
inhabitants  brought  Kosciusko  from  his  cottage. 
4  When  I  was  a  Polish  soldier,'  said  he,  addressing 
the  plunderers,  '  the  property  of  the  peaceful  citizen 
was  respected.'  '  And  who  art  thou,'  said  an  offi 
cer,  '  who  addresses  us  with  this  tone  of  authority.'  '  I 
am  Kosciusko.'  There  was  magic  in  the  word.  It  ran 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON. 

from  corps  to  corps ;  the  march  was  suspended ; 
they  gathered  around  him  and  gazed  with  astonish 
ment  and  awe  upon  the  mighty  ruin  he  presented. 
Could  it  indeed  be  their  hero  whose  fame  was  identified 
with  that  of  their  country  ?  A  thousand  interesting 
reflections  burst  upon  their  minds,  they  remembered 
his  patriotism,  his  devotion  to  liberty,  his  triumphs, 
and  his  glorious  fall.  Their  iron  hearts  even  softened, 
and  the  tear  of  sensibility  trickled  down  their  weath 
er-beaten  faces.  We  can  easily  conceive,  Sir,  what 
would  be  the  feelings  of  the  hero  himself  in  such  a 
scene.  His  great  heart  must  have  heaved  with  emo 
tion  to  find  himself  once  more  surrounded  by  the 
companions  of  his  glory,  and  that  he  would  have  been 
upon  the  point  of  saying  to  them  : — 

'  Behold  your  general,  come  once  more 
To  lead  you  on  to  laurel'd  victory — 
To  fame,  to  freedom  ! ' 

"The  delusion  could  have  lasted  but  for  a  moment. 
He  was  himself,  alas !  a  miserable  cripple,  and  for 
them,  they  were  no  longer  the  soldiers  of  liberty,  but 
the  instruments  of  ambition  and  tyranny.  Over 
whelmed  with  grief  at  the  reflection,  he  would  retire 
to  his  cottage  to  mourn  afresh  over  the  miseries  of  his 
country. 

"  Such  was  the  man,  Sir,  for  whose  memory  I  ask 
from  an  American  Congress  a  slight  tribute  of  re 
spect.  Hot,  Sir,  to  perpetuate  his  fame,  but  our  grat 
itude.  His  fame  will  last  as  long  as  liberty  remains 
upon  the  earth — as  long  as  a  votary  offers  incense 
23* 


270  THE   LIFE   OF 

upon  her  altar,  the  name  of  Kosciusko  will  be  in 
voked.  And  if  by  the  common  consent  of  the  world, 
a  temple  should  be  erected  to  those  who  have  ren 
dered  most  service  to  mankind,  if  the  statue  of  our 
great  countrymen  shall  occupy  the  place  of  the  "  most 
worthy,"  that  of  Kosciusko  will  be  found  by  his  side, 
and  the  wreath  of  laurel  will  be  entwined  with  the 
palm  of  virtue  to  adorn  his  brow." 

Though  the  great  merits  of  Kosciusko  was  univer 
sally  admired,  yet  this  resolution  met  with  so  much 
opposition  that  General  Harrison  finally  withdrew  it, 
together  with  another  testifying  the  respect  of  the 
brave  for  his  memory  by  wearing  crape.  It  was 
shown  that  no  such  respect  as  it  proposed  had  been 
paid  to  any  of  the  departed  worthies,  native  or  for 
eign,  who  had  aided  in  the  achievement  of  our  inde 
pendence,  except  in  the  single  instance  of  Washington, 
which  was  claimed  to  be  an  exception  to  all  general 
rules.  The  occasion,  however,  was  happily  seized 
upon  by  General  Harrison  to  bring  the  great  merits 
of  the  noble  patriot  and  martyr  before  the  country, 
and  to  pay  the  eloquent  and  touching  tribute  to  his 
memory  which  has  been  quoted  above ;  a  speech 
containing  sentiments  as  honorable  to  the  heart  and 
head  of  the  man  by  whom  they  were  uttered  as  to  the 
patriot  whose  glorious  deeds  and  eminent  virtues  they 
were  designed  to  commemorate. 

In  1816,  a  resolution  was  offered  in  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States,  voting  a  gold  medal  and  the  thanks 
of  Congress  to  General  Harrison  and  Governor  Shelby. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON. 

But  the  enemies  of  the  late  war  were  almost,  as 
a  matter  of  course,  the  enemies  also  of  the  man  who 
had  done  so  much  to  carry  the  country  honorably 
through  it  as  General  Harrison  had.  A  motion  was 
therefore  made  by  Mr.  Lacoch,  from  Pennsylvania, 
to  strike  his  name  from  the  resolution.  This  motion 
prevailed  by  a  vote  of  thirteen  to  eleven ;  but  on 
the  20th  of  April,  one  week  after,  the  resolution  was 
called  up  again,  and  General  Harrison's  name  re 
stored  by  a  vote  of  fourteen  to  thirteen.  The  subject 
was  re-committed  to  the  military  committee  where  it 
rested  until  1818.  When  Governor  Shelby  heard  of 
the  attempt  to  strike  the  name  of  General  Harrison 
from  the  resolution,  with  the  magnanimity  of  a  great 
mind,  he  wrote  to  his  old  commander,  praying  him  not 
to  let  the  conduct  of  the  Senate  disturb  his  mind. 
He  said,  "  I  hope  their  resolution  has  been  laid  over 
as  to  both  of  us.  The  moment  I  heard  of  the  course 
it  was  likely  to  take,  I  wrote  instantly  to  Mr.  Clay, 
and  expressed  my  regret  that  it  had  been  introduced, 
and  how  mortified  I  should  feel  to  be  noticed,  if  you 
were  not  included,  who  had  rendered  ten  times  more 
service  to  the  nation  than  I  had." 

The  subject  was  again  brought  before  the  Sen 
ate,  on  the  24th  of  March,  1818,  by  Mr.  Dickinson, 
of  New  Jersey,  subsequently  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  under  General  Jackson's  administration.  On 
that  day  he  asked  leave  to  introduce  a  resolution  offer 
ing  the  thanks  of  Congress,  and  providing  that  a  gold 
medal  be  struck  and  awarded  to  General  Harrison  and 


THE   LIFE   OP 


Governor  Shelby,  for  their  distinguished  bravery  and 
good  conduct  in  capturing  the  British  army  under  Gen 
eral  Proctor,  on  the  Thames,  in  Upper  Canada,  October 
5th,  1813.  Mr.  Dickinson  prefaced  the  introduction 
of  this  resolution  with  the  following  chaste  and  appro 
priate  remarks  :  — 

"  I  should  not,"  he  said,  "  at  this  late  day,  highly 
as  I  think  of  the  merits  of  those  officers,  who,  in  co 
operation  with  the  hero  of  Lake  Erie,  turned  the  tide 
of  war  in  our  favor,  bring  forward  the  present  resolu 
tion  if  no  similar  attempt  had  heretofore  been  made 
in  their  favor,  but  would  leave  their  fame  to  rest  upon 
the  testimony  of  impartial  history  which  has  already 
done  ample  justice  to  their  characters. 

"  Two  years  ago  a  resolution  like  the  present  was 
reported  in  this  House,  by  the  chairman  of  the  com 
mittee  on  military  affairs,  by  direction  of  that  com 
mittee.  This  resolution  was  opposed  on  two  grounds, 
applying  solely  to  General  Harrison,  as  I  have  been 
informed  (for  I  had  not  then  the  honor  of  being  a 
member  of  this  body)  —  the  first,  that  an  inquiry  was 
at  that  time  pending  before  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  into  the  official  conduct  of  General  Harrison,  as 
a  commander-in-chief  of  the  north-western  army,  upon 
charges  which,  if  well  founded,  were  calculated  essen 
tially  to  injure  his  character;  the  second,  that  a  rumor 
prevailed  that  General  Harrison  had  discovered  some 
reluctance  in  pursuing  Proctor  and  his  army,  after 
Perry's  victory  on  Lake  Erie,  and  that  he  had  been 
forced  to  the  pursuit  by  the  remonstrance  of  Gov- 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  273 

crnor  Shelby,  and  that  this  information  had  been  de 
rived  from  the  declarations  of  Governor  Shelby. 

u  These  charges,  utterly  unfounded  as  they  turned 
out  to  be,  were  deemed  a  sufficient  reason  for  postpon 
ing  a  decision  of  the  report  of  the  committee  until  the 
result  of  the  inquiry,  before  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  should  at  least  be  known.  *  *  *  As  the 
friends  of  General  Harrison  have  it  in  their  power  com 
pletely  to  obviate  every  objection  heretofore  made  to 
the  passage  of  this  resolution,  it  is  their  duty  to  bring 
the  subject  again  before  Congress,  more  especially  as 
the  journals  of  this  house,  if  left  unexplained,  imply 
a  censure  upon  the  conduct  of  General  Harrison, 
which  certainly  was  not  intended.  I  will  confess  for 
one,  from  a  perusal  of  the  journal  of  this  house,  the 
military  reputation  of  General  Harrison  sunk  in  my 
estimation.  And  I  believe  this  confession  might  be 
made  by  three-fourths  of  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  who  read  the  proceedings  of  Congress,  and 
who  had  not  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  character 
and  conduct  of  General  Harrison.  I  should  reproach 
myself  for  having  suffered  such  an  impression  to  be 
made  upon  my  mind  if  the  means  of  correcting  it 
had  also  been  found  upon  our  journals  ;  those  jour 
nals  did  not  then  afford  the  means  of  correct  informa 
tion  upon  this  subject,  nor  do  they  till  this  day. 

"  As  to  the  first  objection  that  an  investigation 
was  depending  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  into 
the  official  conduct  of  General  Harrison,  the  result  of 
that  investigation  was  in  the  highest  degree  honorable 


274  THE   LIFE  OP 

to  his  character.  The  committee  were  unanimously  of 
the  opinion  that  General  Harrison  stood  above  suspi 
cion  of  being  implicated  in  the  charges  exhibited 
against  him,  and  that  in  his  whole  conduct,  as  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  north-western  army,  he  was 
governed  by  a  laudable  zeal  for  and  devotion  to  the 
public  service  and  interests. 

"  The  second  objection  made  to  the  passage  of  the 
resolution,  if  well  founded,  was  calculated  to  give  to 
Governor  Shelby  the  entire  and  exclusive  merit  of 
having  urged  the  pursuit  of  Proctor  and  his  army. 
But  Shelby,  generous  as  he  is  brave,  disclaims  this 
exclusive  merit  in  a  letter,  which  I  beg  leave  to  read  ; 
denies,  in  the  most  positive  terms,  having  used  the 
language  ascribed  to  him,  and  he  gives  General  Har 
rison  the  highest  praise  for  his  promptitude  and  vigi 
lance  in  pursuing  Proctor ;  for  the  skill  with  which 
lie  arranged  his  troops  for  meeting  the  enemy,  and 
for  his  disinterested  bravery  during  the  action." 

The  resolution  passed  both  branches  of  Congress 
unanimously,  or  so  nearly  so  that  the  exception  was 
but  a  single  vote  in  the  House,  and  on  the  4th  of 
April,  1818,  was  approved  by  James  Madison,  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States.  So  triumphantly  had 
General  Harrison's  character  been  vindicated  from 
the  charges,  of  whatever  kind,  which  had  been  prefer 
red  against  him  by  his  enemies,  that  scarcely  an 
objection  was  raised  to  the  passage  of  a  resolution  con 
ferring  upon  him  the  highest  honor  in  the  power  of 
Congress  to  bestow. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  275 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

during  General  Harrison's  first  regular  term 
in  Congress,  that  the  celebrated  and  important  debate 
was  had  on  the  resolution  to  censure  General  Jack 
son  for  his  conduct  in  the  Seminole  War.  Upon  this 
subject  he  felt  a  very  deep  solicitude,  and  between  his 
warm  sympathy  and  disinterested  friendship  for  a 
brave  and  patriotic  fellow-soldier,  and  honest  deter 
mination  to  let  no  considerations  come  between  him 
and  his  duty  to  his  country,  he  necessarily  felt  pain 
fully  embarrassed.  His  speech  on  this  question  was 
equally  admired,  therefore,  for  its  ingenuity,  ability 
and  eloquence,  and  was  pronounced  one  of  the  finest 
efforts  elicited  by  that  interesting  occasion.  It  was 
even  more  admired,  however,  for  its  impartial  and  pa 
triotic  spirit  than  for  its  eloquence  and  ability ;  for 
while  he  disapproved  the  course  of  General  Jack 
son,  and  commented  on  his  conduct  with  the  manly 
independence  of  a  freeman,  he  defended  such  of  his 
acts  as  he  believed  right,  and  did  full  justice  to  his 
motives.*  In  concluding  his  remarks  he  said : — 

"  If  the  highest  services  could  claim  indemnity  for 
crime,   then  might  the   conqueror  of  Platsea  have 
*  Hall's  Life  of  Harrison. 


276  THE    LIFE   OP 

been  suffered  to  continue  his  usurpations  until  he  had 
erected  a  throne  upon  the  ruins  of  Grecian  liberty. 
Sir,  it  will  not  be  understood  that  I  mean  to  compare 
General  Jackson  to  these  men.  No ;  I  believe  that 
the  principles  of  the  patriot  are  as  firmly  fixed  in  his 
bosom  as  those  of  the  soldier.  But  a  republican  gov 
ernment  should  make  no  distinctions  between  men, 
and  should  never  relax  its  maxims  of  security  for  any 
individual,  however  distinguished.  No  man  should  be 
allowed  to  say  that  he  could  do  that  with  impunity 
which  another  could  not  do.  If  the  father  of  his 
country  were  alive,  in  the  administration  of  the  gov 
ernment,  and  had  authorized  the  taking  of  the  Span 
ish  ports,  I  would  declare  my  disapprobation  as 
readily  as  I  do  now.  Nay,  more,  because  the  more 
distinguished  the  individual,  the  more  salutary  the 
example.  No  one  can  tell  how  soon  such  an  example 
may  be  beneficial.  General  Jackson  will  be  faithful 
to  his  country.  But  I  recollect  that  the  virtues  and 
patriotism  of  Fabius  and  Scipio  were  soon  followed  by 
the  crimes  of  Marcus  and  the  usurpations  of  Sylla. 

"  I  am  sure,  Sir,  that  it  is  not  the  intention  of  any 
gentleman  upon  this  floor  to  rob  General  Jackson  of 
a  single  ray  of  glory,  much  less  to  wound  his  feelings 
or  injure  his  reputation.  And  whilst  I  thank  my 
friend  from  Mississippi  (Mr.  Poindexter),  in  the  name 
of  those  who  agree  with  me,  that  General  Jackson 
has  done  wrong,  I  must  be  permitted  to  decline  the 
use  of  the  address  which  he  has  so  obligingly  pre 
pared  for1  us,  and  substitute  the  following  as  more 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  277 

consonant  to  our  views  and  opinions.  If  the  resolu 
tion  pass  I  would  address  him  thus  :  In  the  perform 
ance  of  a  sacred  duty,  imposed  by  their  construction 
of  the  constitution,  the  representatives  of  the  people 
have  found  it  necessary  to  disapprove  a  single  act 
of  your  brilliant  career ;  they  have  done  it  in  the  full 
conviction  that  the  hero  who  has  guarded  her  rights  in 
the  field,  will  bow  with  reverence  to  the  civil  institu 
tions  of  his  country — that  he  has  admitted  as  his  creed 
that  the  character  of  the  soldier  can  never  be  com 
plete  without  eternal  reference  to  the  character  of  the 
citizen. 

"  Your  country  has  done  for  you  all  that  a  coun 
try  can  do  for  the  most  favored  of  her  sons.  The 
age  of  deification  is  passed ;  it  was  an  age  of  tyranny 
and  barbarism ;  the  adoration  of  man  should  be  ad 
dressed  to  his  Creator  alone.  You  have  been  feasted 
in  the  pretoires  of  the  cities.  Your  statue  shall  be  in 
the  capitol,  and  your  name  be  found  in  the  song  of 
the  virgins.  Go,  gallant  chief,  and  bear  with  you 
the  gratitude  of  your  country !  Go,  under  the  full 
conviction  that,  as  her  glory  is  identified  with  yours, 
she  has  nothing  more  dear  to  her  but  her  laws — noth 
ing  more  sacred  but  her  constitution.  Even  an  unin 
tentional  error  shall  be  sanctified  to  her  service.  It 
will  teach  posterity  that  the  government  which  could 
disapprove  the  conduct  of  a  Marcellus,  will  have  the 
fortitude  to  crush  the  vices  of  Marius. 

"  These  sentiments,  Sir,  lead  to  results  in  which 
all  must  unite.  General  Jackson  will  still  live  in  the 
24 


278  THE  LIFE    OP 

hearts  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  the  constitution  of 
jour  country  will  be  immortal." 

General  Harrison  remained  in  Congress  until  he 
had  served  out  the  unexpired  term  of  Mr.  McLean, 
and  the  full  term  for  which  he  was  returned.  He 
then  declined  a  re-election.  During  his  brief  legisla 
tive  career,  he  exhibited  the  same  aptness  for  the 
new  duties  and  responsibilities  thus  imposed  upon 
him  that  he  had  previously  shown  for  those  of  the 
soldier  and  the  general.  His  familiar  acquaintance 
with  the  wants  of  the  country,  and  his  extensive  ac 
quirements,  peculiarly  qualified  him  for  an  enlightened 
and  useful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the  law-maker. 
As  a  debater,  he  was  ready,  fluent  and  forcible. 
Always  courteous  and  dignified,  and  possessing  a  vig 
orous  and  cultivated  mind,  he  not  only  made  himself 
a  most  useful  member,  but  was  enabled  to  exercise  an 
influence  far  greater  than  that  exerted  by  many  much 
older  members.  Many  of  his  speeches  will  bear  a 
favorable  comparison  with  most  members  of  the  same 
Congress. 

The  following  year  after  his  withdrawal  from  Con 
gress  he  yielded  to  the  solicitation  of  his  friends,  and 
became  a  candidate  for  the  Senate  of  Ohio,  to  which 
he  was  elected  in  the  fall  of  1819.  In  that  body  he 
rendered  important  services  to  the  State.  Earnestly 
as  he  labored  for  the  public  good,  and  advantageous 
as  were  his  services  to  his  constituents,  his  conduct 
did  not  escape  the  criticism  of  the  censorious,  nor 
even  the  open  condemnation  of  disingenuous  partizans. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  279 

His  vote  in  the  Senate,  in  favor  of  selling  the  services 
of  convicts  sentenced  for  larcenies  of  sums  under 
fifty  dollars,  as  a  punishment  less  injurious  to  them 
and  less  burdensome  to  the  State  than  confinement  in 
the  State  prison,  was  made  the  pretext  for  charging 
him  with  voting  to  sell  poor  white  men  to  pay  their 
debts.  In  relation  to  this  charge,  General  Harrison 
himself  has  given  at  once  the  clearest  explanation  and 
the  most  convincing  refutation.  After  referring  to  an 
attack  of  this  character  that  had  been  made  upon 
him,  he  proceeds  to  say  that  no  such  act  as  one 
authorizing  the  sale  of  a  poor  debtor's  services  was 
either  voted  for  him  or  passed  by  the  legislature  of 
which  he  was  a  member. 

"  The  act  in  question  has  no  more  relation  to  the 
collection  of  ' debts,'"  continues  General  Harrison, 
"  than  it  has  to  the  discovery  of  longitude.  It  was  an 
act  for  the  punishment  of  offenses  against  the  State ; 
and  that  part  of  it  which  is  so  bitterly  assailed  was 
passed  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  voted 
for  by  the  twelve  senators,  under  the  impression  that 
it  was  the  most  mild  and  humane  mode  of  dealing 
with  the  offenders  for  whose  cases  it  was  intended. 
It  was  adopted  by  the  House  of  Representatives  as  a 
part  of  a  general  system  of  criminal  law  which  was 
then  undergoing  a  complete  revision  and  amendment. 
The  necessity  of  this  is  evinced  by  the  following  facts : 
For  several  years  past  it  had  become  apparent  that 
the  Penitentiary  system  was  becoming  more  and  more 
burdensome  at  every  session.  A  large  appropriation 


280  THE    LIFE   OF 

was  called  for  to  meet  the  excess  of  expenditure 
above  the  receipts  of  the  establishment.  In  the  com 
mencement  of  the  session  of  1820,  the  deficit  amount 
ed  to  nearly  twenty  thousand  dollars. 

"  This  growing  evil  required  the  immediate  inter 
position  of  some  vigorous  legislative  measure.  Two 
were  recommended  as  likely  to  produce  the  effect: 
first,  placing  the  institution  under  better  management, 
and,  secondly,  lessening  the  number  of  convicts  who 
were  sentenced  for  short  periods,  and  whose  labor 
was  found,  of  course,  to  be  most  unproductive.  In 
pursuance  of  the  latter  principle,  thefts  to  the  amount 
of  fifty  dollars  or  upwards  were  subjected  to  punish 
ment  in  the  Penitentiary,  instead  of  ten  dollars,  which 
was  the  former  minimum  sum.  This  was  easily  done ; 
but  the  great  difficulty  remained  to  determine  what 
should  be  the  punishment  of  those  numerous  larcenies 
below  the  sum  of  fifty  dollars.  By  some,  whipping 
was  proposed ;  by  others,  punishment  by  hard  labor 
in  the  county  jails  ;  and  by  others  it  was  thought  best 
to  make  them  work  on  the  highways. 

"  To  all  these  there  appeared  insuperable  objec 
tions.  Fine  and  imprisonment  was  proposed  by  the 
House  of  Representatives  as  the  only  alternative,  and 
as  it  was  well  known  that  these  vexatious  pilferings 
were  generally  perpetrated  by  the  most  worthless  va 
gabonds  in  society,  it  was  added  that  when  they  could 
not  pay  the  fines  and  costs,  which  are  always  part  of 
the  sentences  and  punishments,  their  services  should 
be  sold  out  to  any  persons  who  should  pay  their  fines 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  281 

and  costs  for  them.  This  was  a  clause  which  was 
passed,  as  I  believe,  by  an  unanimous  vote  of  the 
House,  and  stricken  out  in  the  Senate,  in  opposition 
to  the  twelve  who  have  been  denominated.  A  little 
further  trouble  in  examining  the  journals  would  have 
shown  that  this  was  considered  as  a  substitute  for 
whipping,  which  was  lost  in  the  Senate  and  in  the 
House,  by  a  small  majority  after  being  once  passed. 

.  "  I  think  I  have  said  enough  to  show  that  this  ob 
noxious  law  would  not  have  applied  to  "  unfortunate 
debtors  of  sixty-four  years,"  but  to  infamous  offenders 
who  depredate  upon  the  property  of  their  fellow- 
citizens,  and  who  by  the  constitution  of  the  State,  as 
well  as  the  principle  of  existing  laws,  were  subject  to 
involuntary  servitude.  I  must  confess  I  had  no  very 
sanguine  expectations  of  beneficial  effects  from  this 
measure,  as  it  would  apply  to  convicts  who  had  at 
tained  the  age  of  maturity.  But  I  had  supposed  that 
a  woman  or  a  youth  who  was  convicted  of  an  offense, 
and  remained  in  jail  for  the  payment  of  the  fine  and 
costs  imposed,  might  with  great  advantage  be  trans 
ferred  to  the  residence  of  some  decent,  virtuous  pri 
vate  family,  whose  precept  and  example  would  greatly 
lead  them  back  to  the  paths  of  virtue.  *  *  *  I  think 
that  imprisonment  for  debt,  under  any  circumstances 
but  those  where  fraud  is  alleged,  is  at  war  with  the 
best  principles  of  our  constitution,  and  ought  to  be 
abolished." 

General  Harrison  remained  in  the  Senate  of  Ohio 
two  years,  during  which  he  devoted  the  energies  of 
24* 


282  THE   LIFE   OF 

his  mind  and  his  great  capacity  for  public  business  to 
the  promotion  of  such  measures  as  he  believed  best 
calculated  to  promote  the  general  welfare.  During 
the  time  he  was  a  member  of  the  State  Senate,  he 
was  elected  as  one  of  the  Presidential  electors  for 
Ohio,  and  voted  for  James  Madison  for  President,  and 
Daniel  D.  Tompkins  for  Vice  President.  He  was 
subsequently  again  chosen  as  one  of  the  electors  of 
that  State,  and  voted  for  Henry  Clay  for  President. 
He  was  nominated  for  Congress  again  in  1822, 
but  was  defeated  in  consequence  of  his  vote  against 
the  Missouri  Restriction.*  Upon  being  nominated, 
he  issued  an  address  to  the  people  of  his  district,  at 
the  conclusion  of  which  he  thus  succinctly  sets  forth 
his  political  principles :  "  I  believe  that  upon  the 
preservation  of  the  Union  of  the  States  depends  the 
existence  of  our  civil  and  religious  liberties,  and  that 
the  cement  which  binds  it  together  is  not  a  parcel  of 
words  written  upon  paper  or  parchment,  but  the  broth 
erly  love  and  regard  which  the  citizens  of  the  several 
States  possess  for  each  other.  Destroy  this,  and  the 
beautiful  fabric  which  was  reared  and  embellished  by 
our  ancestors,  crumbles  into  ruin.  From  its  disjointed 
parts  no  temple  of  liberty  will  again  be  reared.  Dis 
cord  and  wars  will  succeed  to  peace  and  harmony ; 
barbarism  will  again  overspread  the  land  ;  or,  what  is 
scarcely  better,  some  kindly  tyrant  will  promulgate 
the  decrees  of  his  will  from  the  seat  where  a  Wash 
ington  and  a  Jefferson  dispensed  the  blessings  of  a 
*  Hall's  Life  of  Harrison. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  283 

free  and  equal  government.  I  believe  it  therefore  to 
be  the  duty  of  a  representative  to  conciliate,  by  every 
possible  means,  the  members  of  our  great  political 
family ;  and  always  to  bear  in  mind  that  as  the  Union 
was  effected  only  by  a  spirit  of  mutual  concessions 
and  forbearance,  so  only  can  it  be  preserved." 

Having  served  two  years  in  the  Senate  of  his 
adopted  State  with  honor  and  distinction  to  .himself, 
and  advantage  to  the  people,  he  once  more  sought  for 
that  happiness  and  repose  in  the  midst  of  his  family 
at  North  Bend,  which  was  so  congenial  to  his  disposi 
tion,  but  of  which  for  so  many  years  he  had  been  de 
prived.  He  was  once  more  to  be  disappointed  in 
these  agreeable  anticipations.  In  the  year  1824  he 
was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  by  the  legis 
lature  of  Ohio.  Soon  after  taking  his  seat  in  that 
body  he  was  appointed  chairman  of  the  military  com 
mittee,  in  place  of  General  Jackson,  who  had  just 
resigned. 

Acting  upon  the  principle  that  had  ever  influenced 
his  conduct,  he  warmly  advocated  the  passage  of  a 
bill  giving  the  preference  in  the  appointment  of  ca 
dets  to  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  to  the 
sons  of  those  who  had  fallen  in  defense  of  their  coun 
try's  rights.  While  a  member  of  the  other  house  of 
Congress,  he  lost  no  opportunity  of  enforcing  the  ne 
cessity  of  giving  not  only  to  those  who  had  shed  their 
blood  in  their  country's  services,  but  also  to  the  wid 
ows-  and  orphans  of  those  who  had  fallen  in  battle, 
some  practical  evidence  of  the  country's  gratitude. 


284  THE   LIFE   OF 

His  course  in  relation  to  the  appointment  of  cadets 
was  in  accordance  with  his  whole  conduct  towards 
these  and  the  descendants  of  those  who  have  periled 
and  lost  their  lives  in  fighting  for  the  rights  of  the 
whole  people. 

The  eccentric  and  extraordinary  John  Randolph, 
of  Roanoke,  occupied  a  seat  in  the  Senate  at  the  time 
General  Harrison  represented  Ohio  in  that  body,  and 
like  every  one  else  whose  fortune  led  him  into  contact 
with  the  fierce  genius  from  Virginia,  he  had  to  pay 
the  penalty  such  contact  imposed.  True  to  his  uni 
form  practice,  and  the  instinct  of  his  nature,  the  Ro- 
anoke  orator  commenced  one  of  his  furious  philippics 
against  Harrison,  renewing  an  old  charge  of  having 
been  a  black  cockade  federalist,  and  an  advocate  of 
the  Alien  and  Sedition  laws  which  were  adopted  du 
ring  the  administration  of  the  elder  Adams.  In  re 
ply  to  a  virulent  and  unprovoked  attack  of  this  char 
acter,  General  Harrison  replied  with  promptness  and 
good  temper,  that  the  extraordinary  manner  in  which 
his  name  had  been  brought  before  the  Senate  by  the 
Senator  from  Virginia,  probably  required  some  notice 
from  him,  though  he  scarcely  knew  how  to  treat  seri 
ously  such  a  charge  as  had  been  advanced  against 
him. 

To  the  charge  that  he  had  the  stain  of  federalism 
upon  his  skirts,  and  had  voted  for  a  standing  army 
and  the  Alien  and  Sedition  laws,  he  said  that  he  had 
not  so  fertile  an  imagination  as  the  gentleman  from 
Virginia,  nor  could  he  at  command  call  up  all  the 


WILLIAM   HENRY   HARRISON.  285 

transactions  of  nearly  thirty  years  ago.  He  could 
say,  however,  that  at  the  time  alluded  to,  he  was  not 
a  party  man  in  the  sense  the  Senator  from  Virginia 
used.  He  was  a  delegate  of  a  territory  which  was 
just  then  rising  into  importance,  and  having  no  vote 
upon  the  general  questions  before  Congress,  it  was 
neither  his  duty,  nor  the  interest  of  those  whom  he 
represented,  to  plunge  into  the  turbulent  sea  of  gen 
eral  politics  which  then  agitated  the  nation. 

There  were  questions  of  great  importance  to  the 
north-west  territory  then  before  Congress — questions 
upon  the  just  settlement  of  which  depended  the  future 
prosperity  of  that  now  important  portion  of  the  Union. 
Standing  as  he  did,  the  sole  representative  of  that 
territory,  his  greatest  ambition  was  to  prove  himself 
faithful  to  his  trust  by  cherishing  its  interest ;  and 
nothing  could  have  been  more  suicidal  or  pernicious 
to  those  he  represented  than  for  him  to  exasperate 
either  party  by  becoming  a  violent  partizan  without 
the  power  to  aid  it,  because  he  had  no  vote  on  politi 
cal  questions.  This  was  his  position,  and  although 
he  had  his  political  principles  as  firmly  fixed  as  those 
of  the  gentleman  from  Virginia,  it  was  no  business 
of  his  to  strike  where  he  could  not  be  felt,  and  where 
the  blow  must  recoil  upon  himself  and  those  whom  he 
represented. 

He  wore  no  cockade,  black  or  tri-colored,  at  that 
time,  and  never  wore  one  but  when  he  was  in  the 
military  service  of  his  country.  But  he  was  seriously 
charged  with  the  heinous  offense  of  associating  with 


286  THE   LIFE   OF 

federal  gentlemen.  He  plead  guilty;  he  respected 
the  revolutionary  services  of  President  Adams,  and 
had  paid  him  that  courtesy  which  was  due  to  him  as 
a  man  and  a  chief  magistrate.  He  also  associated 
with  such  men  as  John  Marshall  and  James  A.  Bay 
ard  :  was  the  acknowledgment  of  such  guilt  to  throw 
him  out  of  the  pale  of  political  salvation  ? 

On  the  other  hand,  he  was  on  intimate  terms  with 
Mr.  Jefferson,  Mr.  Gallatin,  and  with  the  whole  Vir 
ginia  delegation,  among  whom  he  had  many  kinsmen 
and  dear  friends.  They  were  his  principal  associates 
in  Philadelphia,  in  whose  mess  he  had  often  met  the 
gentleman  who  was  now  his  accuser,  and  with  whom 
he  had  spent  some  of  the  happiest  hours  of  his  life. 
It  was  true,  as  the  senator  alleged,  he  had  been  ap 
pointed  governor  of  the  north-western  territory  by 
John  Adams ;  so  had  he  been  by  Thomas  Jefferson 
and  James  Madison. 

But  he  was  not  in  Congress  when  the  standing 
army  was  created  and  the  Alien  and  Sedition  laws 
were  passed,  and  if  he  had  been  he  could  not  have 
voted  for  them,  and  would  not  if  he  could.  It  was 
not  in  his  nature  to  be  a  violent  or  prescriptive  parti 
san,  but  he  had  given  a  fine  support  to  the  republican 
administrations  of  Jefferson,  Madison  and  Monroe 
He  hoped  the  senator  from  Virginia  was  answered ; 
he  was  sure  the  Senate  must  be  wearied  with  this 
frivolous  and  unprofitable  squabble. 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  287 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

GENERAL  HARBISON  remained  in  Congress  only 
three  years,  having  been  appointed  by  President  John 
Quincy  Adams,  in  1828,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to 
the  republic  of  Colombia.  He  sailed  from  New  York 
on  his  mission  on  the  10th  November  of  that  year, 
in  the  ship  Erie,  and  arrived  at  Bogota  on  the  5th  of 
February  ensuing.  On  the  27th  he  presented  his 
credentials  and  was  received  with  flattering  attentions. 
The  official  journal  of  the  government,  in  announcing 
his  arrival,  congratulated  Colombia  on  beholding  the 
interest  which  was  manifested  by  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  to  cultivate  friendly  relations  with 
that  republic  by  sending  among  them  so  distinguished 
a  citizen  as  General  Harrison. 

On  the  4th  of  March  following,  twenty-eight  days 
after  General  Harrison  arrived  at  the  capitol  of  Co 
lombia,  General  Jackson  was  inaugurated  President 
of  the  United  States.  On  the  8th  of  March,  thirty- 
one  days  after  his  arrival,  he  was  recalled,  and 
Thomas  P.  Moore,  of  Kentucky,  appointed  his  suc 
cessor.  A  recollection  of  this  circumstance  will  aid 
in  forming  an  opinion  "as  to  the  correctness  of  the 


288  THE   LIFE   OP 

charge  that  General  Harrison  was  recalled  in  conse 
quence  of  his  interference  with  the  internal  aifairs  of 
the  republic.  The  government  of  the  United  States 
could  not  have  been  advised  of  his  arrival  at  Bogota 
until  some  time  after  he  had  been  recalled,  and  Mr. 
Moore  appointed  to  succeed  him.  The  pretext  upon 
which  this  charge  of  interference  was  based,  was  a 
letter  written  by  him  to  Bolivar,  the  President  of  the 
republic,  containing  some  patriotic  admonition  as  to 
his  future  course. 

Unfortunately,  however,  for  those  who  sought  to 
justify  the  injustice  done  to  General  Harrison  and 
the  injury  to  the  country,  by  his  hasty  recall,  that 
letter  was  written  six  months  after  the  appointment 
of  his  successor,  and  when  he  had  ceased  to  be  an 
officer  of  the  government.  The  charge,  however, 
served  its  purpose  for  the  time,  and  has  long  since 
ceased  either  to  be  believed  or  repeated.  The  letter 
which  was  used  as  an  attempted  justification  of  an  act 
that  met  with  the  almost  universal  disapprobation  of 
the  country,  contained  sentiments  alike  so  noble  and 
patriotic,  and  is  withal  so  pregnant  with  the  true 
spirit  of  republicanism,  that  it  deserves  to  be  perpet 
uated  in  every  practicable  form.  Few  papers  ema 
nating  from  a  private  citizen  have  ever  been  more 
admired  or  commanded  more  general  respect  for  their 
patriotic  principles  and  their  beauty  and  energy  of 
style.  The  letter  is  dated  at  Bogota,  on  the  27th  of 
September,  1829.  The  motive  by  which  it  was  dic 
tated  is  best  explained  by  the  letter  itself,  as  follows : 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  289 

"  If  there  is  anything  in  the  style,  the  matter  or 
the  object  of  this  letter,  which  is  calculated  to  give 
offense  to  your  excellency,  I  am  persuaded  you  will 
readily  forgive  it,  when  you  reflect  on  the  motives 
which  induced  me  to  write  it.  An  old  soldier  could 
possess  no  feelings  but  those  of  the  kindest  character 
towards  one  who  has  shed  so  much  lustre  on  the  pro 
fession  of  arms ;  nor  can  a  citizen  of  the  country  of 
Washington  cease  to  wish  that  in  Bolivar  the  world 
might  behold  another  instance  of  the  highest  military 
attainments  united  with  the  purest  patriotism  and  the 
greatest  capacity  for  civil  government. 

"  Such,  Sir,  have  been  the  fond  hopes  not  only  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  but  of  the  friends 
of  liberty  throughout  the  world.  I  will  not  say  that 
your  excellency  has  formed  projects  to  defeat  these 
hopes,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  have  not  only 
been  formed,  but  are  at  this  moment  in  progress  to 
maturity,  and  openly  avowed  by  those  who  possess 
your  entire  confidence.  I  will  not  attribute  to  these 
men  impure  motives,  but  can  they  be  disinterested 
advisers  ?  Are  they  not  the  very  persons  who  will 
gain  most  by  the  proposed  change  ?  who  will,  indeed, 
gain  all  that  is  to  be  gained,  without  furnishing  any 
part  of  the  equivalent  ?  That  the  price  of  their  fu 
ture  wealth  and  honors  is  to  be  furnished  exclusively 
by  yourself?  And  of  what  does  it  consist?  Your 
great  character.  Such  a  one,  that  if  a  man  were 
wise,  and  possessor  of  the  empire  of  the  Caesars 
in  its  best  days,  he  would  give  all  to  obtain.  Are 
25 


2  I/O  THE   LIFE   OT 

you  prepared  to  make  this  sacrifice  for  such  an 
tbject? 

"  I  am  persuaded  that  those  who  advocate  these 
measures  have  never  dared  to  induce  you  to  adopt  them 
by  any  argument  founded  on  your  personal  interests, 
and  that  to  succeed  it  would  be  necessary  to  convince 
you  that  no  other  course  remained  to  save  the  country 
from  the  evils  of  anarchy.  This  is  the  question,  then, 
to  be  examined. 

Does  the  history  of  this  country,  since  the  adop 
tion  of  the  constitution,  really  exhibit  unequivocal 
evidence  that  the  people  are  unfit  to  be  free  ?  Is  the 
exploded  opinion  of  a  European  philosopher  of  the 
last  age,  that  in  the  new  hemisphere  man  is  a  degraded 
being,  to  be  renewed  and  supported  by  the  example 
of  Colombia  ?  The  proof  should  indeed  be  strong  to 
induce  an  American  to  adopt  an  opinion  so  humilia 
ting. 

"  Feeling  always  a  deep  interest  in  the  success  of 
the  revolutions  in  the  late  Spanish  America,  I  have 
never  been  an  inattentive  observer  of  events,  pending 
and  posterior  to  the  achievements  of  its  independence. 
In  these  events  I  search  in  vain  for  a  single  fact  to 
show  that  in  Colombia,  at  least,  the  state  of  society  is 
non-suited  to  the  adoption  of  a  free  government. 
"Will  it  be  said,  that  a  free  government  did  exist, 
but  being  found  inadequate  to  the  objects  for  which 
it  had  been  instituted,  it  has  been  superseded  by  one 
of  a  different  character  with  the  concurrence  of  a  ma 
jority  of  the  people  ? 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  291 

"  It  is  the  most  difficult  thing  in  the  world  for  me 
to  believe,  that  a  people  in  the  possession  of  their 
rights,  as  freemen,  would  ever  be  willing  to  surrender 
them  and  submit  themselves  to  the  will  of  a  master. 
I  say  such  instances  are  on  record ;  the  power  thus 
transferred  has  been  in  a  moment  of  extreme  public 
danger,  and  then  limited  to  a  very  short  period.  I 
do  not  think  that  it  is  by  any  means  certain  that  the 
majority  of  the  French  people  favored  the  elevation  of 
Napoleon  to  the  throne  of  France.  But  if  it  were  so, 
how  different  were  the  circumstances  of  that  country 
from  those  of  Colombia,  when  the  constitution  of  Cu- 
cutor  was  overthrown  !  At  the  period  of  the  elevation 
of  Napoleon  to  the  First  Consulate,  all  the  powers  of 
Europe  were  the  open  or  secret  enemies  of  France  ; 
civil  war  raged  within  her  borders.  The  hereditary 
king  possessed  many  partisans  in  every  province ; 
the  people,  continually  betrayed  by  the  factions  which 
murdered  and  succeeded  each  other,  had  imbibed  a 
portion  of  their  ferocity,  and  every  town  and  village 
witnessed  the  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  both  men 
and  women  of  all  parties  and  principles.  Does  the 
history  of  Colombia,  since  the  expulsion  of  the  Span 
iards,  present  any  parallel  to  these  scenes  ?  Her 
frontiers  have  never  been  seriously  menaced  ;  no  civil 
war  raged  ;  not  a  partisan  of  the  former  government 
was  to  be  found  in  the  whole  extent  of  her  territory ; 
no  faction  contended  with  each  other  for  the  posses 
sion  of  power ;  the  executive  government  remained 
in  the  hands  of  those  to  whom  it  had  been  committed 


292  THE   LIFE   OF 

by  the  people,  in  a  fair  election.  In  fact,  no  people 
ev7er  passed  from  under  the  yoke  of  a  despotic  gov 
ernment  to  the  enjoyment  of  entire  freedom  with  less 
disposition  to  abuse  their  newly-acquired  power  than 
those  of  Colombia.  They  submitted,  indeed,  to  a 
continuance  of  some  of  the  most  arbitrary  and  unjust 
features  which  distinguished  the  former  government. 
If  there  was  any  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  great 
mass  of  the  people  to  effect  any  shange  in  the  exist 
ing  order  of  things, — if  the  Colombians  act  from  the 
same  motives  and  upon  the  same  principles  which 
govern  mankind  elsewhere  and  in  all  ages, — they  would 
have  desired  to  take  from  the  government  a  part  of 
the  power  which,  in  their  experience,  they  had  con 
fided  to  it.  The  monopoly  of  certain  articles  of  agri 
cultural  produce,  and  the  oppressive  duties  of  the  Al- 
cabala,  might  have  been  tolerated  until  the  last  of  their 
tyrants  were  driven  from  the  country.  But  when 
peace  was  restored,  when  not  one  enemy  remained 
within  its  borders,  it  might  reasonably  have  been  sup 
posed  that  the  people  would  have  desired  to  abolish 
these  remains  of  arbitrary  governments,  and  substitute 
for  them  some  tax  more  equal  and  accordant  with 
republican  principles. 

"  On  the  contrary,  it  is  pretended  that  they  had 
become  enamored  with  these  despotic  measures,  and 
so  disgusted  with  the  freedom  they  did  enjoy,  that 
they  were  more  than  willing  to  commit  their  destinies 
to  the  uncontrolled  will  of  your  excellency.  Let  me 
assure  you,  Sir,  that  these  assertions  will  gain  no 


WILLIAM   HENRY   HARRISON.  293 

credits  with  the  present  generation,  or  with  posterity. 
They  will  demand  the  facts  which  had  induced  a 
people,  by  no  means  deficient  in  intelligence,  so  soon 
to  abandon  the  principles  for  which  they  had  so  gal 
lantly  fought,  and  tamely  surrendered  that  liberty 
which  had  been  obtained  at  the  expense  of  so  much 
blood.  And  what  facts  can  be  produced  ?  It  cannot 
be  said  that  life  and  property  were  not  as  well  pro 
tected  under  the  republican  government  as  they  have 
ever  been ;  nor  that  there  existed  any  opposition  to 
the  constitution  and  laws  too  strong  for  the  ordinary 
powers  of  the  government  to  put  down. 

"  If  the  insurrection  of  General  Paez,  in  Venezu 
ela,  is  adduced,  I  would  ask  by  what  means  was  he  re 
duced  to  obedience  ?  Your  excellency,  the  legitimate 
head  of  the  republic,  appeared,  and  in  a  moment  all 
opposition  ceased,  and  Venezuela  was  restored  to  the 
republic.  But  it  is  said  that  this  was  affected  by 
your  personal  influence,  or  the  dread  of  your  military 
talents,  and  that  to  keep  General  Paez  and  other  ambi 
tious  chiefs  from  dismembering  the  republic,  it  was 
necessary  to  invest  your  excellency  with  the  extraor 
dinary  powers  you  possess.  There  would  be  some 
reason  in  this  if  you  had  refused  to  act  without  these 
powers,  or  having  acted  as  you  did,  you  had  been 
anable  to  accomplish  anything  without  them;  but 
you  succeeded  completely,  and  there  can  be  no  possi 
ble  reason  assigned  why  you  would  not  have  suc 
ceeded  with  the  same  means  against  any  future  at 
tempt  of  General  Paez  or  any  other  general. 
25* 


204  THE   LIFE   OP 

"  There  appears,  however,  to  be  one  sentiment  in 
which  all  parties  unite  ;  that  is,  that  as  matters  nov. 
stand,  you  alone  can  save  the  country  from  ruin — at 
least  from  much  calamity.  They  differ,  however, 
very  widely  as  to  the  measures  to  be  taken  to  put 
your  excellency  in  the  way  to  render  this  important 
service.  The  lesser  and  more  interested  party  is  for 
placing  the  government  in  your  hands  for  life,  either 
with  your  present  title,  or  with  one  which,  it  must  be 
confessed,  better  accords  with  the  nature  of  the  pow 
ers  to  be  exercised.  If  they  adopt  the  less  offensive 
title,  and  if  they  weave  into  their  system  some  appa 
rent  checks  to  your  will,  it  is  only  for  the  purpose  of 
masking,  in  some  degree,  their  real  object,  which  is 
nothing  short  of  the  establishment  of  a  despotism. 
The  plea  of  necessity,  that  eternal  argument  of  all 
conspirators,  ancient  or  modern,  against  the  rights  of 
mankind,  will  be  resorted  to,  to  induce  you  to  accede 
to  their  measures,  and  the  unsettled  state  of  the  coun 
try  which  has  been  designedly  produced  by  them,  will 
be  adduced  as  evidence  of  that  necessity. 

"  There  is  but  one  way  for  your  excellency  to  es 
cape  from  the  snares  which  have  been  so  artfully  laid 
to  entrap  you,  and  that  is  to  stop  short  in  the  course 
which  unfortunately  has  been  already  commenced. 
Every  step  you  advance  under  the  influence  of  such 
counsels  will  make  retreat  more  difficult,  until  it  will 
become  impracticable.  You  will  be  told  that  the  in 
tention  is  only  to  vest  you  with  authority,  to  correct 
what  is  wrong  in  the  administration,  and  to  put  down 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON,  295 

the  factions,  and  that  when  the  country  once  enjoys 
tranquillity,  the  government  may  be  restored  to  the 
people.  Delusive  will  be  the  hopes  of  those  who  rely 
upon  this  declaration.  '  The  promised  hour  of  tran 
quillity  will  never  arrive.  If  events  tended  to  pro 
duce  it,  they  will  be  counteracted  by  the  government 
itself.  It  was  the  strong  remark  of  a  former  presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  that  sooner  will  the  lover 
be  contented  with  the  first  smiles  of  his  mistress  than  a 
government  cease  to  endeavor  to  extend  and  preserve 
its  powers.  With  whatever  reluctance  your  excellency 
may  commence  the  career  ;  with  whatever  disposition 
to  abandon  it  when  the  objects  for  which  it  was  com- 
'  menced  have  been  obtained ;  when  once  fairly  en 
tered,  you  will  be  borne  along  by  the  irrresistible 
force  of  pride,  habits  of  command,  and,  indeed,  of 
self-preservation,  and  it  will  be  impossible  to  recede. 
"  But  it  is  said  that  it  is  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people  that  the  proposed  change  is  to  be  made ;  and 
that  by  your  talents  and  influence  alone,  aided  by 
unlimited  power,  the  ambitious  chiefs  in  the  different 
departments  are  to  be  restrained,  and  the  integrity 
of  the  republic  preserved.  I  have  said,  and  I  most 
sincerely  believe  that  from  the  state  into  which  the 
country  has  been  brought,  that  you  alone  can  pre 
serve  it  from  the  horrors  of  anarchy.  But  I  cannot 
conceive  that  any  extraordinary  powers  are  necessary. 
The  authority  to  see  that  the  laws  are  executed ; 
to  call  out  the  strength  of  the  country ;  to  enforce 
their  execution,  is  all  that  is  required,  and  is  what 


296  THE   LIFE   OP 

is  possessed  by  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  every  other  republic,  and  is  what  was 
confined  to  the  executive  by  the  constitution  of  Cu- 
cuta.  Would  your  talents  or  your  energies  be  im 
paired  in  the  council  or  the  field,  or  your  influence 
lessened  when  acting  as  the  head  of  a  republic  ? 

"  I  propose  to  examine  very  briefly  the  results 
which  are  likely  to  flow  from  the  proposed  change  of 
government :  first,  in  relation  to  the  country  ;  sec 
ondly,  to  yourself  personally.  Is  the  tranquillity  of 
the  country  to  be  secured  by  it  ?  Is  it  possible  for 
your  excellency  to  believe  that  when  the  mask  has 
been  thrown  off,  and  the  people  discovered  that  a 
despotic  government  has  been  fixed  upon  them,  that 
they  will  quietly  submit  to  it  ?  Will  they  forget  the 
pass-word  which,  like  the  cross  of  fire,  was  the  signal 
for  rallying  to  oppose  their  former  tyrants  ?  Will  the 
virgins  at  your  bidding  cease  to  chant  the  songs  of 
liberty  which  so  lately  animated  the  youth  to  victory  ? 
Was  the  patriotic  blood  of  Colombia  all  expended  in 
the  fields  of  Vargas,  Bayaca  and  Carebobo  ?  The 
schools  may  cease  to  enforce  upon  their  pupils  the 
love  of  country,  drawn  from  the  examples  of  Cato 
and  the  Bruti,  Harmodius  and  Aristogiton ;  but  the 
glorious  example  of  patriotic  devotion,  exhibited  in 
your  own  hacienda,  will  supply  their  place.  Depend 
upon  it,  Sir,  that  the  moment  which  shall  announce  the 
continuance  of  arbitrary  power  in  your  hands,  will  be 
the  commencement  of  commotions  which  will  require 
all  your  talents  and  energy  to  suppress.  You  may 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  297 

succeed.  The  disciplined  army  at  your  disposal  may 
be  too  powerful  for  an  unarmed,  undisciplined  arid 
scattered  population.  But  one  unsuccessful  effort  will 
not  content  them,  and  your  feelings  will  be  eternally 
racked  by  being  obliged  to  make  war  upon  those  who 
have  been  accustomed  to  call  you  their  father,  and  to 
invoke  blessings  on  your  head,  and  for  no  cause  but 
their  adherence  to  principles  which  you  yourself  had 
taught  them  to  regard  more  than  their  lives. 

"  If  by  the  strong  government  which  the  advocates 
for  the  proposed  change  so  strenuously  recommend, 
one  without  responsibility  is  intended  which  may  put 
men  to  death,  and  immure  them  in  dungeons  without 
trial,  and  one  where  the  army  is  everything  and  the 
people  nothing,  I  must  say  that  if  the  tranquillity  of 
Colombia  is  to  be  preserved  in  this  way,  the  wildest  an 
archy  would  be  preferable.  Out  of  that  anarchy  a 
better  government  might  arise.  But  the  chains  of 
military  despotism  once  fastened  upon  a  nation,  ages 
might  pass  away  before  they  could  be  shaken  off. 

"  But  I  contend  that  the  strongest  of  all  govern-  - 
ments  is  that  which  is  most  free.  We  consider  that 
of  the  United  States  as  the  strongest,  precisely  be 
cause  it  is  the  most  free.  It  possesses  the  faculties 
equally  to  protect  itself  from  foreign  force  or  internal 
convulsions.  In  both  it  has  been  sufficiently  tried. 
In  ne  country  upon  the  earth  would  an  armed  oppo 
sition  to  the  laws  be  sooner  or  more  effectually  put 
down.  Not  so  much  by  the  terrors  of  the  guillotine 
and  the  gibbet  as  from  the  aroused  determination  of 


298  THE    LIFE   OP 

the  nation,  exhibiting  their  strength,  and  convincing 
the  factions  that  their  cause  was  hopeless.  No,  Sir, 
depend  upon  it,  that  the  possession  of  arbitrary  power 
by  the  government  of  Colombia  will  not  be  the  means 
of  securing  its  tranquillity ;  nor  will  the  danger  of 
disturbances  solely  arise  from  the  opposition  of  the 
people.  The  power  and  the  military  force  which  it 
will  be  necessary  to  put  in  the  hands  of  the  governors 
of  the  distant  provinces,  added  to  the  nature  of  the 
country,  will  continually  present  to  those  officers  the 
temptation  and  the  means  of  revolt. 

"  Will  the  proposed  change  restore  prosperity  to  the 
country  ?  With  the  best  intentions  to  do  so  will  you 
be  able  to  recall  commerce  to  its  shores,  and  give  new 
life  to  the  drooping  state  of  agriculture  ?  The  cause 
of  the  constant  decline  in  these  great  interests  cannot 
be  mistaken.  It  arises  from  the  fewness  of  those 
who  labor,  and  the  number  of  those  who  are  to  be 
supported  by  that  labor.  To  support  a  swarm  of 
luxurious  and  idle  monks,  and  an  army  greatly  dis- 
proportioned  to  the  resources  of  the  country,  with  a 
body  of  officers  in  a  tenfold  degree  disproportioned 
to  the  army,  every  branch  of  industry  is  opprressed 
with  burdens  which  deprive  the  ingenious  man  of  the 
profits  of  his  ingenuity,  and  the  laborer  of  his  reward. 
To  satisfy  the  constant  and  pressing  demands  which 
are  made  upon  it,  the  treasury  seizes  upon  everything 
within  its  grasp — destroying  the  very  germ  of  future 
prosperity  :  is  there  any  prospect  that  these  evils  will 
cease  with  the  proposed  change  ?  Can  the  army  be 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  299 

dispensed  with  ?  Will  the  influence  of  the  monks  be 
no  longer  necessary  ?  Believe  me,  Sir,  that  the  sup 
port  which  the  government  derives  from  both  those 
sources  will  be  more  than  ever  requisite. 

"But  the  most  important  inquiry  is  the  effect 
which  this  strong  government  is  to  have  upon  the 
people  themselves.  Will  it  tend  to  improve  and  ele 
vate  their  character,  and  fit  them  for  the  freedom  which 
it  is  pretended  is  ultimately  to  be  bestowed  upon  them  ? 
The  question  has  been  answered  from  the  age  of  Ho 
mer.  Man  does  not  learn  under  oppression  those 
noble  qualities  and  feelings  which  fit  him  for  the  en 
joyment  of  liberty.  Nor  is  despotism  the  proper 
school  in  which  to  acquire  the  knowledge  of  the  prin 
ciples  of  republican  government.  A  government 
whose  revenues  are  derived  from  diverting  the  very 
sources  of  wealth  from  its  subjects  will  not  find  it 
the  means  of  improving  the  morals  and  enlightening 
the  minds  of  the  youth,  by  supporting  systems  of  lib 
eral  education ;  and  if  it  could,  it  would  not. 

"  In  relation  to  the  effect  which  this  investment 
of  power  is  to  have  upon  your  happiness  and  your 
fame,  will  the  pomp  and  glitter  of  a  court,  and  the 
flattery  of  venal  courtiers,  reward  you  for  the  trouble 
and  anxieties  attendant  upon  the  exercise  of  sover 
eignty  everywhere,  and  those  which  will  flow  from 
your  peculiar  situation  ?  Or  power  supported  by  the 
bayonet  for  that  willing  homage  which  you  were  wont 
to  receive  from  your  fellow-citizens  ?  The  groans  of 
a  dissatisfied  and  oppressed  people  will  penetrate  the 


300  THE    LIFE   OF 

inmost  recesses  of  your  palace,  and  you  will  be 
tortured  by  the  reflection  that  you  no  longer  possess 
that  place  in  their  affections  which  was  once  your 
pride  and  your  boast,  and  which  would  have  been 
your  solace  under  every  reverse  of  fortune.  Unsup 
ported  by  the  people,  your  authority  can  only  be 
maintained  by  the  terrors  of  the  sword  and  the  scaf 
fold.  And  have  these  ever  been  successful  under 
similar  circumstances  ?  Blood  may  smother  for  a  pe 
riod,  but  can  never  extinguish  the  fire  of  liberty 
which  you  have  contributed  so  much  to  kindle  in  the 
bosom  of  every  Colombian. 

"  I  will  not  urge  as  an  argument  the  personal 
dangers  to  which  you  will  be  exposed ;  but  I  will  ask 
if  you  could  enjoy  life  which  would  be  preserved  by 
the  constant  execution  of  so  many  human  beings — 
your  countrymen,  your  former  friends,  and  almost  your 
worshipers  ?  The  pangs  of  such  a  situation  will  be 
more  acutely  reflecting  on  the  hallowed  motives  who 
could  aim  their  daggers  at  your  bosom ;  that,  like  the 
last  of  the  Romans,  they  would  strike,  not  from  hatred 
to  the  man,  but  love  to  the  country. 

"  From  a  knowledge  of  your  own  disposition  and 
present  feelings,  your  excellency  will  not  be  willing 
to  believe  that  you  could  ever  be  brought  to  commit 
an  act  of  tyranny,  or  ever  to  execute  justice  with  un 
necessary  rigor ;  but  trust  me,  Sir,  there  is  nothing 
more  corrupting — nothing  more  destructive  of  the 
noblest  and  finest  feelings  of  our  nature — than  of  un 
limited  power.  The  men  who,  in  the  beginning  of 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  301 

such  a  career,  might  shudder  at  the  idea  of  taking 
away  the  life  of  a  fellow-being,  might  soon  have  his 
conscience  so  seared  by  the  repetition  of  crime,  that 
the  agonies  of  his  murdered  victims  might  become 
music  to  his  soul,  and  the  drippings  of  his  scaffold 
afford  "blood  enough  to  swim  in."  History  is  full 
of  such  examples. 

"  From  this  disgusting  picture  permit  me  to  call 
the  attention  of  your  excellency  to  one  of  a  different 
character.  It  exhibits  you  as  the  constitutional  chief 
magistrate  of  a  free  people,  giving  to  their  representa 
tives  the  influence  of  your  great  name,  to  reform  the 
abuses  which,  in  a  long  reign  of  tyranny  and  misrule, 
have  fastened  upon  every  branch  of  the  government. 
The  army  and  its  swarm  of  officers  reduced  within 
the  limits  of  real  usefulness,  placed  on  the  frontiers, 
and  no  longer  permitted  to  control  public  opinion,  and 
be  the  terror  of  the  peaceful  citizen.  By  the  removal 
of  this  incubus  from  the  treasury,  and  the  establish 
ment  of  order,  responsibility  and  economy  in  the  ex 
penditures  of  the  government,  it  would  soon  be  enabled 
to  dispense  with  the  odious  monopolies  and  the  duty 
of  the  alcavala,  which  have  operated  with  so  malign 
an  effect  upon  the  commerce  and  agriculture ;  and, 
indeed,  upon  the  revenues  which  they  were  intended 
to  augment.  No  longer  oppressed  by  these  shackles, 
industry  would  everywhere  revive;  the  farmer  and 
the  artisan,  cheered  by  the  prospect  of  ample  reward 
for  their  labor,  would  redouble  their  exertions ;  for 
eigners,  with  their  capital  and  skill  in  the  arts,  would 
26 


302  THE    LIFE  OP 

crowd  hither  to  enjoy  the  advantages  which  could 
scarcely  elsewhere  be  found;  and  Colombia  would 
soon  exhibit  the  reality  of  the  beautiful  fiction  of 
Fenelon — Labutum  rising  from  misery  and  oppression 
to  prosperity  and  happiness,  under  the  counsels  and 
direction  of  the  concealed  goddess. 

"What    objections    can    be  urged    against   this 
course  ?     Can  any  one  acquainted  with  these  circum 
stances  of  the  country  doubt  its  success  in  restoring 
and  maintaining  tranquillity  ?    The  people  would  cer 
tainly  not  revolt  against  themselves,  and  none  of  the 
chiefs  who    are   supposed   to   be   factiously  inclined 
would  think  of  opposing  the  strength  of  the  nation 
when  directed  by  your  talents  and  authority.     But 
it  is  said  that  the  want  of  intelligence  amongst  the 
people  unfits  them  for  the  government.     Is  it  not 
right,  however,  that  the  experiment  should  be  fairly 
tried  ?     I  have  already  said  that  this  has  not  been 
done.     For  myself,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  declare  my 
firm  belief  that  it  will  succeed.     The  people  of  Co 
lombia    possess   many   traits   of    character   suitable 
for  a  republican  government.     A  more  orderly,  for 
bearing,  well-disposed  people  are  nowhere  to  be  met 
with.     Indeed,  it  may  be  asserted,  that  their  faults 
and  vices  are  attributable  to  the  cursed  government 
to  which  they  have  been  so  long  subjected,  and  to  the 
intolerant  character  of  their  religion,  whilst  their  vir 
tues  are  all  their  own.     But  admitting  their  present 
want  of  intelligence,  no  one  has  ever  doubted  their  ca 
pacity  to  acquire  knowledge ;  and  under  the  strong 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  803 

motives  which  exist  to  obtain  it,  supported  by  the 
influence  of  your  excellency,  it  would  soon  be  ob 
tained. 

"  To  yourself  the  advantage  would  be  as  great  as 
to  the  country ;  like  acts  of  mercy  the  blessings  would 
be  reciprocal,  your  personal  happiness  secured,  and 
your  fame  elevated  to  a  height  which  would  leave  but 
a  single  competition  in  the  estimation  of  posterity. 
In  bestowing  the  palm  of  merit  the  world  has  become 
wiser  than  formerly.  The  successful  warrior  is  no 
longer  entitled  to  the  first  place  in  the  temple  of  fame. 
Talents  of  this  kind  have  become  too  common  and  too 
often  used  for  mischievous  purposes  to  be  regarded  as 
they  once  were.  In  this  enlightened  age  the  now  hero 
of  the  field  and  the  successful  leader  of  armies  may,  for 
the  moment,  attract  attention ;  but  it  will  be  such  as 
is  bestowed  upon  the  passing  meteor,  whose  blaze  is 
no  longer  remembered  when  it  is  no  longer  seen.  To 
be  esteemed  eminently  great  it  is  necessary  to  be  em 
inently  good.  The  qualities  of  the  general  and  the 
hero  must  be  devoted  to  the  advantage  of  mankind, 
before  he  will  be  permitted  to  assume  the  title  of  their 
benefactor  ;  and  the  station  which  he  will  hold  in  their 
regard  and  affections  will  depend,  not  upon  the  num 
ber  and  the  splendor  of  his  victories,  but  upon  the  re 
sults  and  the  use  he  may  make  of  the  influence  he 
acquires  from  them. 

"  If  the  fame  of  Washington  depended  upon  his 
military  achievements,  would  the  common  consent  of 
the  world  allow  him  the  pre-eminence  he  possesses  ? 


304  THE   LIFE   OF 

The  victories  of  Trenton,  Monmouth  and  York,  bril 
liant  as  they  were — exhibiting  as  they  certainly  did,  the 
highest  grade  of  military  talents — are  scarcely  thought 
of.  The  source  of  the  veneration  and  esteem  which  is 
entertained  for  his  character  by  every  description  of 
politicians — the  monarchist  and  aristocrat,  as  well  as 
the  republican — is  to  be  found  in  his  undeviating  and 
exclusive  devotedness  to  the  interests  of  his  country. 
No  selfish  consideration  was  ever  suffered  to  intrude 
itself  into  his  mind.  For  his  country  he  conquered ; 
and  the  unrivaled  and  increasing  prosperity  of  that 
country  is  constantly  adding  fresh  glory  to  his  name. 
General,  the  course  which  he  pursued  is  open  to  you, 
and  it  depends  upon  yourself  to  attain  the  eminence 
which  he  reached  before  you. 

"  To  the  eyes  of  military  men  the  laurels  you  won 
on  the  fields  of  Vargas,  Bayaca  and  Carebobo,  will 
be  forever  green ;  but  will  that  content  you  ?  Are 
you  willing  that  your  name  should  descend  to  posterity 
amongst  the  names  of  those  whose  fame  has  been  de 
rived  from  shedding  human  blood,  without  a  single 
advantage  to  the  human  race ;  or  shall  it  be  united  to 
that  of  Washington,  as  the  founder  and  the  father  of 
a  great  and  happy  people  ?  The  choice  is  before  you. 
The  friends  of  liberty  throughout  the  world,  and  the 
people  of  the  United  States  in  particular,  are  wait 
ing  your  decision  with  intense  anxiety.  Alexander 
toiled  and  conquered  to  obtain  the  applause  of  the 
Athenians ;  will  you  regard  as  nothing  the  opinions 
of  a  nation  which  has  evinced  its  superiority  over  that 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  305 

celebrated  people  in  the  science  most  useful  to  man, 
by  having  carried  into  actual  practice  a  system  of 
government,  of  which  the  wisest  Athenians  had  but  a 
glimpse  in  theory,  and  considered  as  a  blessing  never 
to  be  realized,  however  ardently  to  be  desired.  The 
place  which  you  are  to  occupy  in  their  esteem  depends 
upon  yourself.  Farewell." 

Immediately  upon  the  arrival  of  General  Harri 
son's  successor  he  took  his  departure  from  Bogota, 
and  arrived  at  New  York  on  the  16th  of  February, 
1830.  He  proceeded  at  once  to  his  residence  at  North 
Bend,  and  again  entered  upon  his  favorite  pursuit  of 
agriculture  with  all  the  zeal  of  former  years.  A 
short  time  after  his  return  he  partook  of  a  public  din 
ner,  tendered  him  by  the  citizens  of  Cincinnati,  as 
a  mark  of  their  high  respect  for  his  private  virtues 
and  distinguished  public  services.  The  next  year  he 
delivered  the  annual  address  before  the  Hamilton 
County  Agricultural  Society.  This  address  gave  con 
vincing  evidence  of  General  Harrison's  familiar  ac 
quaintance  with  the  theory  as  well  as  the  practice  of 
agriculture,  and  of  the  deep  interest  he  felt  in  that 
most  important  of  all  branches  of  industry.  An 
extract  from  it  will  illustrate  the  truth  of  this  state 
ment  : 

"  The  encouragement  of  agriculture,  gentlemen, 
would  be  praiseworthy  in  any  country  ;  in  our  own  it 
is  peculiarly  so,  not  only  to  multiply  the  means  and 
enjoyments  of  life,  but  as  giving  greater  stability  and 
security  to  our  political  institutions.  In  all  ages  and 
26* 


306  THE   LIFE   OF 

in  all  countries,  it  has  been  observed,  that  the  culti 
vators  of  the  soil  are  those  who  were  least  willing  to 
part  with  their  rights,  and  submit  themselves  to  the  will 
of  a  master.  I  have  no  doubt,  also,  that  a  taste  for 
agricultural  pursuits  is  the  best  means  of  disciplining 
the  ambition  of  those  daring  spirits  who  occasionally 
spring  up  in  the  world  for  good  or  for  evil,  to  defend 
or  destroy  the  liberties  of  their  fellow-men,  as  the 
principles  received  from  education  or  circumstances 
may  tend.  As  long  as  the  leaders  of  the  Roman 
armies  were  taken  from  the  plow,  to  the  plow  they 
were  willing  to  return ;  never  in  the  character  of 
general  forgetting  the  duties  of  the  citizen,  and  ever 
ready  to  exchange  the  sword  and  the  triumphal  pur 
ple,  for  the  homely  vestments  of  the  husbandman. 

"  The  history  of  this  far-famed  republic  is  full  of 
instances  of  this  kind ;  but  none  more  remarkable 
than  our  own  age  and  country  have  produced.  The 
facinations  of  power,  and  the  trappings  of  command, 
were  as  much  despised — and  the  enjoyment  of  rural 
scenes  and  rural  employments  as  highly  prized — by  our 
Washington  as  by  Cincinnatus  or  Regulus.  At  the 
close  of  his  glorious  military  career,  he  says,  '  I  am 
preparing  to  return  to  that  domestic  retirement  which 
it  is  well  known  I  left  with  the  deepest  regret,  and  for 
which  I  have  not  ceased  to  sigh  through  a  long  and 
painful  absence.' 

"Your  efforts,  gentlemen,  to  diffuse  a  taste  for 
agriculture  amongst  men  of  all  descriptions  and  pro 
fessions  may  produce  results  more  important,  even, 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  307 

than  increasing  the  means  of  subsistence,  and  the  en 
joyments  of  life.  It  may  cause  some  future  con 
queror  for  his  country  to  end  his  career 

'  Guiltless  of  his  country's  blood.' 

*  *  "To  the  heart-cheering  prospect  of 
herds  and  flocks  feeding  on  unrivaled  pastures, 
fields  of  grain  exhibiting  the  scriptural  proof  that  the 
seed  had  been  sown  on  good  ground,  how  often  is 
the  eye  of  the  philanthropic  traveler  disgusted  with 
the  dark  unsightly  manufactories  of  a  certain  poison 
— poison  to  the  body  and  the  soul.  A  modern  JEneas 
or  Ulysses  might  mistake  them  for  entrances  into  the 
infernal  regions  ;  nor  would  they  greatly  err.  But, 
unlike  those  passages  which  condnct  the  Grecian  and 
Trojan  heroes  on  their  pious  errands,  the  scence  to 
which  these  conduct  the  unhappy  wretch  who  shall 
enter  are  those  exclusively  of  misery  and  woe.  No 
relief  to  the  sad  picture ;  no  Tartarus  there,  no  Ely 
sium  here.  It  is  all  Tartarian  darkness,  and  not  un- 
frequently  Tartarian  crimes.  I  speak  more  freely  of 
the  practice  of  converting  the  material  of  the  <  staff 
of  life'  (and  by  which  so  many  human  beings  yearly 
perish)  into  an  article  which  is  so  destructive  of 
health  and  happiness,  because  in  that  way  I  have 
sinned  myself;  but  in  that  way  I  shall  sin  no  more." 


308  THE    LIFE   OP 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

GENERAL  HARRISON'S  time  and  attention  now  and 
for  several  years  after  continued  to  be  almost  exclu 
sively  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits, — not  so  exclu 
sively,  however,  that  he  was  not  ever  ready  to  aid  to 
the  extent  of  his  abilities,  and  in  any  way  his  ser 
vices  might  be  required  in  every  useful  and  benevo 
lent  enterprise.  His  expensive  literary  attainments 
subjected  him  to  frequent  demands  of  this  character. 
Frequent  addresses,  speeches  and  orations  of  his, 
written  or  spoken,  during  this  period,  are  productions 
of  no  mean  literary  merit,  and  evincing  a  range  of 
intellect  and  a  depth  of  research  which  place  General 
Harrison  in  the  front  rank  of  American  orators  and 
statesmen  as  well  as  writers. 

Passing  over  several  of  these  productions,  an  ex 
tract  will  be  given  from  a  speech  delivered  at  Vin- 
cennes,  in  May,  1835,  at  a  dinner  given  him  by  the 
citizens  of  that  place,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  his 
opinions  upon  a  question  which  then,  as  now,  excited 
the  deepest  interest  in  the  public  mind.  Though  his 
opinions  on  the  subject  of  slavery  may  not  command 
the  same  attention  now  that  they  did  when  the  publli' 
mind  first  began  to  be  directed  towards  him  as  an 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  309 

aspirant  for  the  highest  office  in  the  nation,  they  are 
nevertheless  entitled  to  that  respect  which  everything 
emanating  from  a  man  of  his  character,  talents  and 
patriotism,  should  ever  receive.  Many  of  his  senti 
ments  will,  probably,  scarcely  find  a  response  amongst 
a  large  number  of  the  people  in  one  section  of  the 
Union.  After  having  briefly  referred  to  the  move 
ments  of  emancipation  societies,  and  denounced  them 
in  terms  that  proved  with  how  good  a  will  it  was 
done,  he  proceeds  : — 

"  Am  I  wrong  in  applying  the  terms  weak,  pre- 
sumptious  and  unconstitutional  to  the  measures  of  the 
emancipators  ?  A  slight  examination  will,  I  think, 
show  that  I  am  not.  In  the  vindication  of  the  objects 
of  a  convention  lately  held  in  one  of  the  towns  of 
Ohio,  it  was  that  nothing  more  was  intended  than  to 
produce  a  state  of  public  feeling  which  would  lead  to 
an  amendment  of  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States.  Now  can  an  amendment  of  the  constitution 
be  effected  without  the  consent  of  the  southern  states  ? 
What  then  is  the  proposition  to  be  submitted  to  them  ? 
*  *  *  But  the  course  pursued  by  the  emancipa 
tionists  is  unconstitutional.  I  do  not  say  that  there 
are  any  words  in  the  constitution  which  forbid  the 
discussions  they  are  engaged  in  ;  I  know  that  there 
are  not.  Any  citizens  have  the  right  to  express  and 
publish  their  opinions  without  restriction.  But  in  the 
construction  of  the  constitution  it  is  always  necessary 
to  refer  to  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was 
framed,  and  to  ascertain  its  meaning  by  a  comparison 


810  THE   LIFE    OF 

of  its  provisions  with  each  other,  and  with  the  previ 
ous  situation  of  the  several  States  who  were  parties  to 
it.  In  a  portion  of  these,  slavery  was  recognized, 
and  they  took  care  to  have  the  right  secured  to  them ; 
to  follow  and  reclaim  such  of  them  as  were  fugitives 
to  other  States.  The  laws  of  Congress,  passed  under 
this  power,  have  provided  punishment  for  any  one 
who  shall  oppose  or  interrupt  the  excercise  of  this 
right.  Now  can  any  one  believe  that  the  instrument 
which  contains  a  provision  of  this  kind  which  author 
izes  a  master  to  pursue  his  slave  into  another  State, 
take  him  back,  and  provide  punishment  for  any  citi 
zen  of  that  State  who  should  oppose  him,  should  at 
the  same  time  authorize  the  latter  to  assemble  to 
gether,  to  pass  resolutions,  and  adopt  addresses,  not 
only  to  encourage  the  slaves  to  leave  their  masters, 
but  to  cut  their  throats  before  they  do  so. 

"  I  insist,  that  if  the  citizens  of  the  non-slave- 
holding  States  can  avail  themselves  of  the  article  of 
the  constitution,  which  prohibits  the  restriction  of 
speech,  or  the  press  to  publish  anything  injurious  to 
the  rights  of  the  slave-holding  States,  that  they  can 
go  to  the  extreme  that  I  have  mentioned,  and  effect 
anything  further  which  writing  or  speaking  could 
effect.  But,  fellow-citizens,  these  are  not  the  princi 
ples  of  the  constitution.  Such  a  construction  would 
defeat  one  of  the  great  objects  of  its  formation, 
which  was  that  of  securing  the  peace  and  harmony  of 
the  States  which  were  parties  to  it.  The  liberty  of 
speech  and  the  press  were  given  as  the  most  effect- 


WILLIAM   HENRY   HARRISON.  311 

ual  means  to  preserve  to  each  and  every  citizen  his 
own  rights,  and  to  the  States  the  rights  which  apper 
tained  to  them,  at  the  time  of  their  adoption.  It 
could  never  have  been  expected  that  it  would  have 
been  used  by  the  citizens  of  one  portion  of  the  States 
for  the  purpose  of  depriving  those  of  another  portion 
of  the  rights  which  they  had  reserved  at  the  adoption 
of  the  constitution,  and  in  the  exercise  of  which  none 
but  themselves  have  any  concern  or  interest.  If  sla 
very  is  an  evil,  the  evil  is  with  them.  If  there  is 
guilt  in  it,  the  guilt  is  theirs,  not  ours,  since  neither 
the  States  where  it  does  not  exist,  nor  the  government 
of  the  United  States,  can,  without  usurpation  of 
power,  and  the  violation  of  a  solemn  compact,  do 
anything  to  remove  it  without  the  consent  of  those 
who  are  immediately  interested.  But  they  will  nei 
ther  aid  nor  consent  to  be  aided,  whilst  the  illegal, 
persecuting  and  dangerous  movements  are  in  progress, 
of  which  I  complain ;  the  interest  of  all  concerned  re 
quires  that  these  should  be  stopped  immediately. 
This  can  only  be  done  by  the  force  of  public  opinion, 
and  that  cannot  too  soon  be  brought  into  operation. 
Every  movement  which  is  made  by  the  abolitionists 
in  the  non-slave-holding  States  is  viewed  by  our  south 
ern  brethren  as  an  attack  upon  their  rights,  and 
which,  if  persisted  in,  must  in  the  end  eradicate  those 
feelings  of  attachment  and  affection  between  the  citi 
zens  of  all  the  States,  which  was  produced  by  a  com 
munity  of  interests  and  dangers  in  the  war  of  the 
revolution,  which  was  the  foundation  of  our  happy 


312  THE   LIFE   OP 

union,  and  by  a  continuance  of  which  it  can  alone  be 
preserved.  I  entreat  you,  then,  to  frown  upon  the 
measures  which  are  to  produce  results  so  much  to  be 
deprecated.  The  opinions  which  I  have  now  given 
I  have  omitted  no  opportunity,  for  the  last  two  years, 
to  lay  before  the  people  of  my  own  State ;  I  have 
taken  the  liberty  to  express  them  here,  knowing  that 
if  they  should  unfortunately  not  accord  with  yours, 
they  would  be  kindly  received. 

In  relation  to  these  opinions  of  General  Harrison, 
it  may  be  said  that  public  opinion  in  the  free  States 
has  taken  a  long  stride  forward  in  the  sixteen  years 
since  their  delivery  and  the  present  period.  Then 
they  were  up  with  the  sentiment  of  the  northern 
people  on  the  subject  of  slavery  ;  now  they  are  far 
behind  it,  at  least,  on  some  points.  While  the  great 
body  of  the  citizens  of  the  free  States  will  cordially 
agree  with  him  that  neither  they  nor  Congress  have 
any  right  to  interfere  with  slavery  in  the  States,  where 
it  exists,  they  still  claim  the  right  to  investigate  it  in 
all  its  relations  to  the  North,  and  to  use  every  proper 
means  to  prevent  its  extension  beyond  its  present 
limits. 

For  a  long  time  the  attention  of  the  people  of  sev 
eral  of  the  States  had  been  concentrating  upon  General 
Harrison  as  the  most  suitable  man  as  the  whig  candi 
date  for  President,  at  the  ensuing  presidential  election. 
By  a  spontaneous  movement  in  his  behalf,  he  was  nom 
inated,  on  the  part  of  the  people,  in  the  autumn  of 
1835 ;  and  the  nomination  thus  virtually  made  by  the 


WILLIAM   HENRY   HARRISON.  31 

people  was  confirmed  by  various  State  conventions  op 
posed  to  the  re-election  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  held  the 
same  autumn  or  the  ensuing  spring.  Several  of  the 
States,  however,  either  made  no  nomination,  or  nom 
inated  another  candidate  ;  and  this  want  of  unani 
mous  and  harmonious  action  between  all  the  opponents 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  in  every  part  of  the  Union,  and  the 
late  period  to  which  the  canvass  was  deferred,  led  to  the 
defeat  of  General  Harrison.  The  result  proved,  how 
ever,  that  had  he  been  brought  before  the  people  with 
the  advantages  which  a  national  nomination  and  a 
national  organization  would  have  given  him,  and  the 
confidence  it  would  have  inspired  in  his  friends,  he 
might  have  been  elected ;  and  especially  it  proved 
that  he  possessed  the  elements  of  future  success  in 
his  character.  Though  he  received  but  seventy-two 
electoral  votes,  in  the  fifteen  States  in  which  he  and 
Mr.  Van  Buren  were  the  only  candidates,  he  received 
five  hundred  and  fifty-two  thousand  votes,  and  Mr. 
Van  Buren  five  hundred  and  eighty,  being  a  majority 
for  the  latter  of  the  popular  vote  of  only  twenty-eight 
thousand. 

In  1837,  General  Harrison  was  selected  to  deliver 
a  discourse  before  the  Philosophical  and  Historical 
Society  of  Ohio,  a  duty  that  he  discharged  with  con 
summate  ability.  The  subject  of  this  address  was  on 
the  Aborignies  of  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  It  displays 
a  very  considerable  degree  of  research,  and  a  perfect 
familiarity  with  the  ancient  works  and  the  Aborigines 
on  the  Ohio.  .  It  is  written,  too,  with  force  and  ele- 
27 


314  THE   LIFE   OF 

gance,  and  is  as  ingenious  as  it  is  profound.  A  sin 
gle  extract  or  two  will  illustrate  this ;  and  also  afford 
both  pleasure  and  interest  to  the  enquirer  after  both : 
— "  The  process  by  which  nature  restores  the  forest 
to  its  original  state,  after  being  once  cleared,  is  ex 
tremely  slow.  In  our  rich  lands,  indeed,  it  is  soon 
covered  again  with  timber,  but  the  character  of  the 
growth  is  entirely  different,  and  continues  so  through 
many  generations  of  men.  In  several  places  on  the 
Ohio,  particularly  upon  the  farm  which  I  occupy, 
clearings  were  made  in  the  first  settlements,  aban 
doned,  and  suffered  to  grow  up.  Some  of  them,  now 
to  be  seen,  of  nearly  fifty  years'  growth,  have  made  so 
little  progress  towards  attaining  the  appearance  of 
the  immediately  contiguous  forest,  as  to  induce  any 
man  of  reflection  to  determine  that  at  least  ten  times 
fifty  years  would  be  necessary  before  its  complete 
assimilation  could  be  affected.  The  sites  of  the  an 
cient  works  on  the  Ohio  present  precisely  the  same 
appearance  as  the  circumjacent  forest.  You  find  on 
them  all  that  beautiful  variety  of  trees  which  gives 
such  unrivaled  richness  to  our  forest.  This  is  par 
ticularly  the  case  on  fifteen  acres,  included  within  the 
walls  of  the  neck  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami ; 
and  the  relative  proportions  of  the  different  kinds  of 
timber  are  about  the  same.  The  first  growth  on  the 
same  kind  of  land,  once  cleared,  and  then  abandoned 
to  nature,  on  the  contrary,  is  more  homogenious — 
often  stinted  to  one  or  two,  or  at  most  to  three,  kinds 
of  timber. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  315 

"  If  the  ground  had  been  cultivated,  yellow  locust,  in 
many  placs,  will  spring  up  as  thick  as  garden  peas.  If 
it  has  not  been  cultivated,  the  black  and  white  walnut 
will  be  the  prevailing  growth.  The  rapidity  with  which 
these  trees  grow,  for  a  time,  smothers  the  attempt  of 
other  kinds  to  vegetate  and  grow  in  their  shade.  The 
more  thrifty  individuals  soon  overtop  the  meeker  of 
their  own  kind,  which  sicken  and  die.  In  this  way  there 
are  soon  only  as  many  left  as  the  earth  will  support 
to  maturity.  All  this  time  the  squirrel  may  plant  the 
seed  of  those  trees  which  serve  them  for  food,  and  by 
neglect  suffer  them  to  remain, — it  will  be  in  vain ; 
the  birds  may  drop  the  kernels,  the  external  pulp  of 
which  have  contributed  to  their  nourishment,  and  di 
vested  of  which  they  are  in  the  best  state  for  ger 
minating,  still  it  will  be  of  no  avail ;  the  winds  of 
heaven  may  waft  the  winged  seeds  of  the  sycamour, 
cotton-wood  and  maple,  and  a  friendly  shower  may 
bury  them  to  the  necessary  depth  in  the  loose  and 
fertile  soil;  but  without  success.  The  roots  below 
rob  them  of  moisture,  and  the  canopy  of  limbs  and 
leaves  above  interrupt  the  rays  of  the  sun  and  the 
dews  of  heaven  :  the  young  giants  in  possession,  like 
another  kind  of  aristocracy,  absorb  the  whole  means  of 
subsistence,  and  leave  the  mass  to  perish  at  their  feet ; 
this  state  of  things,  however, will  not  always  continue. 
If  the  process  of  nature  is  slow  and  circuitous  in 
putting  down  usurpation  and  establishing  the  equality 
which  she  loves,  and  which  is  the  great  characteristic 
of  her  principles,  it  is  sure  and  effectual.  The  pref- 


316  THE    LIFE    OP 

erence  of  the  soil  for  the  first  growth  ceases  with  its 
maturity ;  it  admits  of  no  succession  on  the  principle 
of  legitimacy.  The  long  undisputed  masters  of  the 
forest  may  be  thinned  by  the  lightnings,  the  tempest, 
or  by  diseases  peculiar  to  themselves ;  and  whenever 
this  is  the  case,  one  of  the  oft-rejected  of  another 
family,  will  find  between  its  decaying  roots  shelter 
and  appropriate  food,  and,  springing  into  vigorous 
growth,  will  soon  push  its  green  foliage  to  the  skies 
through  the  decayed  and  withering  limbs  of  its  blasted 
and  dying  adversary ;  the  soil  itself  yielding  it  a 
more  liberal  support  than  any  scion  from  any  occu 
pant.  It  will  be  conceived  what  a  length  of  time  it 
will  require  for  a  denuded  tract  of  land,  by  a  process 
so  slow,  again  to  clothe  itself  with  the  amazing  variety 
of  foliage  which  is  the  characteristic  of  the  forests  of 
this  region.  Of  what  immense  age,  then,  must  be 
those  works,  so  often  referred  to,  covered,  as  has  been 
supposed  by  those  who  have  the  best  opportunity  of 
examining  them,  with  the  second  growth  after  the 
second  forest  state  had  been  regained.  *  *  * 

"  An  erroneous  opinion  has  prevailed  in  relation 
to  the  character  of  the  Indians  of  North  America. 
By  many  they  are  supposed  to  be  stoics,  who  willingly 
encounter  deprivations.  The  very  reverse  is  the  fact ; 
if  they  belong  to  either  of  the  classes  of  philosophers 
which  prevailed  in  the  declining  ages  of  Greece  and 
Rome,  it  is  to  that  of  epicureans ;  for  no  Indian 
will  forego  an  enjoyment,  or  suffer  an  inconvenience, 
if  he  can  avoid  it,  but  under  peculiar  circumstances, 


WILLIAM    HENRY  HARRISON.  317 

— when,  for  instance,  he  is  stimulated  by  some  strong 
passion  ;  but  even  the  gratification  of  this  he  is  ever 
ready  to  postpone,  whenever  its  accomplishment  is 
attended  with  unlocked  for  danger,  or  unexpected 
hardships.  Hence  their  military  operations  were 
always  feeble — their  expeditions  few  and  far  between, 
and  much  the  greater  number  abandoned  without  an 
efficient  stroke,  from  whim,  caprice  or  an  aversion  to 
encounter  difficulties.  But  if  the  Indian  will  not 
throw  off' '  the  pomps  and  pleasures'  with  which  his 
good  fortune  furnishes  him, — when  evils  come  which 
he  cannot  avoid — when  l  the  stings  and  arrows  of  out 
rageous  fortune'  fall  thick  upon  him, — then  will  he 
call  up  all  the  spirit  of  a  man  into  his  bosom,  and 
meet  his  fate,  however  hard,  like  '  the  best  Roman  of 
them  all.'  *  *  * 

"  It  may  be  proper  that  I  should  say  something 
more  as  to  the  character  of  the  now  scattered  and 
almost  extinct  tribes  which  so  long  and  so  success 
fully  resisted  our  arms,  and  who,  for  many  years  after, 
stood  in  the  relation  of  dependents,  acknowledging 
themselves  under  our  exclusive  protection.  Their 
character  as  warriors  has  been  already  remarked  upon ; 
their  bravery  has  never  been  questioned,  although 
there  was  certainly  a  considerable  difference  between 
the  several  tribes  in  this  respect.  With  Wyandots, 
flight  in  battle,  when  meeting  with  unexpected  resist 
ance  or  obstacle,  brought  with  it  no  disgrace.  It  was 
considered  rather  as  a  principle  of  tactics ;  and  I  think 
it  may  be  fairly  considered  as  having  its  source  in  that 
27* 


318  THE   LIFE   OF 

peculiar  temperament  of  mind  which  they  often  man 
ifested  of  not  pressing  fortune  under  any  sinister  cir 
cumstances,  but  patiently  waiting  until  the  changes 
of  a  successful  issue  appeared  to  be  favorable.  With 
the  Wyandots  it  was  otherwise ;  their  youth  were 
taught  to  consider  anything  that  had  the  appearance 
of  an  acknowledgment  of  a  superiority  of  an  enemy 
as  disgraceful.  In  the  battle  of  the  Miami  Rapids, 
of  thirteen  chiefs  of  that  tribe  who  we  represent,  one 
only  survived,  and  he  badly  wounded. 

"  As  it  regards  their  moral  and  intellectual  quali 
ties  the  difference  between  the  tribes  was  still  greater. 
The  Shawanees,  Delawares,  and  Miamis  were  much 
superior  to  the  other  members  of  the  confederacy. 
I  have  known  individuals  among  them  of  very  high 
order  of  talents,  but  these  were  not  generally  to  be 
relied  on  for  sincerity.  The  Little  Turtle,  of  the  Mi 
ami  tribe,  was  of  this  description,  as  was  the  Blue 
Jacket,  a  Shawanee  chief.  I  think  it  probable  that 
Tecumthe  possessed  more  integrity  than  any  other  of 
the  chiefs  who  attained  to  much  distinction.  But  he 
violated  a  solemn  engagement  which  he  had  freely 
contracted,  and  there  are  strong  suspicions  of  his 
having  formed  a  treacherous  design  which  an  accident 
only  prevented  him  from  accomplishing.  Sinister  in 
stances  are,  however,  to  be  found  in  the  conduct  of 
great  men  in  the  history  of  almost  all  civilized  na 
tions.  But  these  instances  are  more  than  counter 
balanced  by  the  number  of  individuals  of  high  mornl 
character  which  were  to  be  found  amongst  the  princi 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  819 

pal  and  secondary  chiefs  of  the  four  tribes  above 
mentioned.  This  was  particularly  the  case  with 
Tache  or  the  Crane,  the  Grand  Sachem  of  the  Wy- 
andots,  and  Black  Hoof,  the  chief  of  the  Shaw- 
anees." 

The  opinions  of  General  Harrison  upon  the  sub 
ject  of  dueling  may  not  be  without  interest,  and  pos- 
v  sibly  they  exert  some  slight  influence  even  in  an  age 
when  the  barbarous  custom  has  almost  been  driven 
from  respectable  society.  In  1838,  he  addressed  a 
letter  to  A.  B.  Howell,  Esq.,  of  New  Jersey,  on  this 
subject,  from  which  an  extract  will  be  made.  He 
illustrates  the  dreadful  effects  of  the  practice,  and  its 
demoralizing  tendency,  principally  by  giving  one  or 
two  instances  of  his  own  experience  in  such  matters : — 
"I  believe,"  he  says,  "that  there  were  more 
duels  in  the  north-western  army  between  the  years 
1791  and  1795  than  ever  took  place  in  the  same 
length  of  time,  and  amongst  so  small  a  body  of  men 
as  composed  the  commissioned  officers  of  the  army, 
either  in  America  or  any  other  country,  at  least  in 
modern  times.  I  became  an  officer  in  the  first-men 
tioned  year,  at  so  early  an  age,  that  it  is  not  wonder 
ful  that  I  implicitly  adopted  the  opinions  of  the  older 
officers,  most  of  whom  were  veterans  of  the  revolution, 
upon  this  as  well  as  upon  other  subjects  connected 
with  my  conduct  and  duty  in  the  profession  I  had 
chosen.  I  believed,  therefore,  in  common  with  the 
large  portion  of  the  officers,  that  no  brave  man  would 
decline  a  challenge,  nor  refrain  from  giving  one 


320  THE   LIFE   OP 

whenever  he  considered  his  rights  or  feelings  had  been 
trespassed  upon.  I  must  confess,  too,  that  I  was 
not  altogether  free  from  the  opinion  that  even  honor 
might  be  acquired  from  a  well  fought  duel.  Fortun 
ately,  however,  before  I  was  engaged  in  a  duel,  either 
as  principal  or  second,  which  terminated  fatally  to 
any  one,  I  became  convinced  that  all  my  opinions 
upon  the  subject  were  founded  in  error,  and  none  of 
them  more  so  than  those  which  depicted  the  situation 
of  the  successful  duelist,  as  either  honorable  or  desi 
rable.  It  could  not  be  honorable,  because  the  greater 
portion  of  that  class  of  mankind,  whose  good  opinion 
of  an  individual  confers  honor  upon  him,  were  opposed 
to  it ;  and  I  had  the  best  evidence  to  believe  that  in 
the  grave  of  the  fallen  duelist  was  frequently  buried 
the  peace  and  happiness  of  the  survivor;  the  act 
which  deprived  the  one  of  existence  in  planting  a 
thorn  in  the  bosom  of  another  which  would  continue 
to  rankle  and  foster  there  to  the  end  of  his  days. 
The  conviction  that  such  was  the  case  with  men  of 
good  feelings  and  principles  was  produced  by  witness 
ing  the  mental  sufferings  of  an  intimate  and  valued 
friend  by  whose  hand  a  worthy  man  had  fallen.  *  * 
"  In  the  summer  of  the  year  1793,  Lieutenant 
Drake,  of  the  infantry  of  the  second  sub-legion,  re 
ceived  a  marked  insult  from  another  officer.  Mani 
festing  no  disposition  to  call  him  to  an  account,  some 
of  those  who  wished  him  well,  amongst  whom  I  was 
one,  spoke  to  him  on  the  subject,  expressing  our  fears 
that  his  reputation  as  an  officer  would  greatly  suffer 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  321 

if  he  permitted  such  an  insult  to  pass  unnoticed.  The 
answer  that  he  gave  me  was  that  he  cared  not  what 
opinion  the  officers  might  form  of  him ;  he  was  de 
termined  to  pursue  his  own  course.  That  course  was 
so  novel  in  the  army  that  it  lost  him,  as  I  supposed 
it  would,  the  respect  of  nearly  all  the  officers.  The 
ensuing  summer,  however,  gave  Mr.  Drake  an  oppor 
tunity  of  vindicating  most  triumphantly  his  conduct 
and  his  principles.  He  had  been  stationed  in  a  small 
fortress,  erected  by  General  Wayne,  during  the  winter, 
upon  the  spot  in  which  they  had  the  previous  day 
deposited  a  quantity  of  provisions,  and  which  had 
been  rendered  remarkable  by  the  defeat  of  General 
St.  Clair's  army  three  years  before.  The  garrison 
consisted  of  a  single  rifle  company  and  thirty  infan 
try,  and  of  the  latter  Drake  was  the  immediate  com 
mander.  In  the  beginning  of  July,  a  detachment  of 
the  army,  consisting  of  several  hundred  men,  under 
the  command  of  Major  McMahon,  being  encamped 
near  the  fort,  were  attacked  early  in  the  morning  by 
about  three  thousand  Indians.  The  troops  made  a 
gallant  resistance,  but  being  turned  on  both  flanks, 
and  in  danger  of  being  surrounded,  they  retreated 
to  the  open  ground  around  the  fort. 

"  From  this,  too,  they  were  soon  dislodged  by  the 
over-powering  force  of  the  enemy.  In  their  retreat 
many  wounded  men  were  in  danger  of  being  left, 
which  being  observed  from  the  fort,  the  commandant, 
Captain  Gibson,  directed  his  own  lieutenant  to  take 
the  infantry  (Drake's  particular  command)  and  a  por- 


322  THE   LUTE  OF 

tion  of  the  riflemen  and  sally  out  to  their  relief.  To 
this  Drake  objected,  and  claimed  the  right  to  com 
mand  his  own  men,  and,  as  a  senior  to  the  other  lieu 
tenant,  his  right  also  to  the  whole  command.  '  0, 
very  well,  Sir,'  said  the  captain,  'if  such  is  your 
wish,  take  it.'  t  It  is  my  wish,  Sir,  to  do  my  duty, 
and  I  will  endeavor  to  do  it  now  and  at  all  times,' 
was  the  modest  reply  of  Drake.  lie  accordingly 
sallied  out,  skillfully  interposed  his  detachments  be 
tween  the  retreating  troops  and  the  enemy,  opened 
upon  them  a  hot  fire,  arrested  their  advance,  and  gave 
an  opportunity  to  the  wounded  to  effect  their  escape, 
and  to  the  broken  and  retreating  companies  of  our 
troops  to  reform,  and  again  to  face  the  enemy. 
Throughout  the  whole  affair  Drake's  activity,  skill 
and  extraordinary  self-possession,  was  most  conspicu 
ous.  The  enemy  of  course  observed,  as  well  as  his 
friends,  the  numerous  shots  directed  at  him,  however, 
like  the  arrows  of  Tenar  aimed  at  the  heart  of  Hec 
tor,  were  turned  aside  by  providential  interference, 
until  he  had  accomplished  all  that  he  had  been  sent 
to  perform.  He  then  received  a  ball  through  his 
body,  and  fell ;  a  faithful  corporal  came  to  his  assist 
ance,  and  with  his  aid  he  reached  the  fort,  and  those 
two  were  the  last  of  the  retreating  party  that  entered 
it.  Drake  made  it  a  point  of  order  that  it  should  be 
so.  He  was  rendered  unfit  for  service  for  a  long  time 
by  his  wound.  He  had  not,  indeed,  recovered  from 
t  in  the  summer  of  1796,  when  he  was  my  guest 
at  Fort  Wayne,  where  I  was  in  command,  while 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  323 

on  furlough,  to  visit  his  native  State,  Connecticut. 
His  friends,  however,  enjoyed  his  presence  but  a  short 
time.  Having,  as  I  understood,  taken  the  yellow 
fever  in  passing  through  Philadelphia,  he  died  a  few 
days  after  he  reached  home.  *  *  * 

"I  acknowledge,  then,  that  the  change  of  my 
opinions  which  I  have  admitted  in  relation  to  dueling 
have  no  other  influence  on  my  conduct  than  to  deter 
mine  me  never  to  be  the  aggressor.  But  although 
resolved  to  offer  no  insult  nor  to  inflict  any  injury,  I 
was  determined  to  suffer  none.  When  I  left  the 
army,  however,  and  retired  to  civil  life,  I  considered 
myself  authorized  greatly  to  narrow  the  ground  upon 
which  I  would  be  willing  to  resort  to  a  personal  com 
bat.  To  the  determination  which  I  had  previously 
made,  to  offer  no  insult  or  to  inflict  any  injury,  to  give 
occasion  to  any  one  to  call  upon  me  in  this  way,  I  re 
solved  to  disregard  all  remarks  upon  my  conduct  which 
could  not  be  construed  into  a  deliberate  insult,  or  any 
injury  which  did  not  affect  my  reputation,  or  the  happi 
ness  and  peace  of  my  family.  When  I  had  the  honor 
to  be  called  upon  to  command  the  north-western  army, 
recollecting  the  number  of  gallant  men  that  had  fallen 
in  the  former  war  in  personal  combat,  I  determined 
to  use  all  the  authority  and  all  the  influence  of  my 
station  to  prevent  their  recurrence.  And  to  take 
away  the  principal  source  from  which  they  sprung,  in 
an  address  to  the  Pennsylvania  brigade,  at  Sandusky, 
I  declared  it  to  be  my  determination  to  prevent,  by 
all  the  means  the  military  laws  placed  in  my  hands, 


324  THE   LIFE  OP 

any  injury  or  even  insult  which  should  be  offered  by 
the  superior  to  the  inferior  officers.  I  cannot  say  what 
influence  this  course  upon  my  part  may  have  produced 
in  the  result ;  but  I  state  with  pleasure  that  there  was 
not  a  single  duel,  nor,  as  far  as  I  know,  a  challenge 
given,  whilst  I  retained  the  command. 

"The  activity  in  which  the  army  was  constantly 
kept  may,  however,  have  been  the  principal  cause  of 
this  uncommon  harmony.  In  relation  to  my  present 
sentiments,  a  sense  of  higher  obligation  than  human 
laws  or  human  opinions  can  impose,  has  determined 
me  never,  on  any  occasion,  to  accept  a  challenge,  or 
seek  redress  for  a  personal  injury,  by  a  resort  to  the 
laws  which  compose  the  code  of  honor." 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  325 


CHAPTER    XX. 

t 

IN  the  fall  of  1838,  an  Anti-Masonic  National 
Convention  assembled  at  Harrisburgh,  and  after  a 
calm  and  careful  survey  of  the  whole  ground,  nomi 
nated  General  Harrison  as  the  candidate  of  that  party 
for  the  Presidency  in  1840.  The  proceedings  of  this 
convention  were  communicated  to  him  by  the  Honor 
able  Harman  Denny.  In  December  of  the  same  year, 
General  Harrison  replied  to  this  official  announcement, 
laying  down  his  views  of  the  duty  of  the  chief  exec 
utive  of  the  nation,  and  the  principles  by  which  he 
should  be  governed  if  elected. 

Having  expressed  his  gratitude  to  the  convention 
for  the  honor  conferred  upon  him,  he  proceeds  thus 
to  develope  his  political  creed.  Among  the  principles 
proper  to  be  adopted  by  an  executive  sincerely  desi 
rous  to  restore  the  administration  to  its  original  sim 
plicity  and  purity,  he  laid  down  the  following  as  of 
the  most  prominent  importance : 

I.  To  confine  his  services  to  a  single  term. 

II.  To  disclaim  all  right  of  control  over  the  pub 
lic  treasury,  with  the  exception  of  such  part  of  it  as 
may  be  appropriated  by  law  to  carry  on  the  public 

28 


326  THE   LIFE    OP 

service,  and  that  to  be  applied  precisely  as  the  law 
may  direct,  and  drawn  from  the  treasury  agreeably  to 
the  long-established  forms  of  that  department. 

III.  That  he  should  never  attempt  to  influence 
the  elections,  either  by  the  people  or  the  State  legis 
latures,  nor  suffer  the  federal  officers  under  his  control 
to  take  any  other  part  in  them  than  by  giving  their 
own  votes  when  they  possess  the  right  of  voting. 

IV.  That,  in  the  exercise  of  the  veto  power,  he 
should  limit  his  rejection  of  bills  to, — 1st.  Such  as  are, 
in  his  opinion,  unconstitutional;  2nd.  Such  as  tend 
to  encroach  on  the  rights  of  the  States  or  individuals ; 
3rd.  Such  as  involving  deep  interests,  may,  in  his 
opinion,  require  more  mature  deliberation  or  reference 
to  the  will  of  the  people,  to  be  ascertained  at  the  suc 
ceeding  elections. 

V.  That  he  should  never  suffer  the  influence  of 
his  office  to  be  used  for  purposes  of  a  purely  party 
character. 

VI.  That  in  removals  from  office  of  those  who 
hold  their  appointments  during  the  pleasure  of  the 
executive,  the  cause  of  such  removal  should  be  stated, 
if  requested,  to  the  Senate,  at  the  time  the  nomination 
of  a  successor  is  made. 

And  last,  but  not  least  in  importance, 

VII.  That  he  should  not  suffer  the  executive  de 
partment  of  the  government  to  become  the  source  of 
legislation ;  but  leave  the  whole  business  of  making 
laws  for  the  Union  to  the  department  to  which  the 
constitution  has  exclusively  assigned  it,  until  they  have 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  327 

assumed  that  perfected  shape,  where  and  when  alone 
the  opinions  of  the  executive  may  be  heard. 

A  community  of  power  in  the  preparation  of  the 
laws  between  the  legislative  and  executive  depart 
ments  must  necessarily  lead  to  dangerous  combina 
tions,  greatly  to  the  advantage  of  a  President  desirous 
of  extending  his  power.  Such  a  construction  of  the 
constitution  could  never  have  been  contemplated  by 
those  who  propose  the  bills,  and  will  always  take  care 
of  themselves  or  the  interests  of  their  constituents ; 
and  hence  the  provision  in  the  constitution,  borrowed 
from  that  of  England,  restricting  the  originating  of 
revenue  bills  to  the  immediate  representatives  of  the 
people. 

Referring  to  the  appointment  of  members  of 
Congress  to  office  by  the  President,  he  says  the  con 
stitution  contains  no  prohibition  of  such  appointments, 
no  doubt  because  its  authors  could  not  believe  in  its 
necessity  for  the  purity  of  character  which  was  man 
ifested  by  those  who  possessed  the  confidence  of  the 
people  at  that  period.  It  is,  however,  an  opinion 
very  generally  entertained  by  the  opposition  party, 
that  the  country  would  have  escaped  much  of  the  evil 
under  which  it  has  suffered  for  some  years  past,  if 
the  constitution  had  contained  a  provision  of  that 
kind.  *  *  * 

"  To  the  duties  I  have  enumerated,  so  proper,  in 
my  opinion,  to  be  performed  by  a  President,  elevated 
by  the  opposition  to  the  present  administration  (and 
which  are,  as  I  believe,  of  constitutional  obligation), 


328  THE  LIFE  OP 

I  will  add  another,  which  I  believe  also  to  be  of  much 
importance ;  I  mean  the  observance  of  the  most  con 
ciliatory  course  of  conduct  towards  our  political  op 
ponents.  After  the  censure  our  friends  have  so  freely 
and  so  justly  bestowed  upon  the  present  chief  magis- 
istrate  for  having,  in  no  inconsiderable  degree,  dis 
franchised  the  whole  body  of  his  political  opponents, 
I  am  certain  that  no  oppositionist,  true  to  the  princi 
ple  he  professes,  would  approve  a  similar  course  of 
conduct  in  the  person  whom  his  vote  has  contributed 
to  elect.  In  a  republic,  one  of  the  surest  tests  of  a 
healthy  state  of  its  institutions  is  to  be  found  in  the 
community  with  which  every  citizen  may,  upon  all 
occasions,  express  his  political  opinions,  and  even  his 
prejudices,  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  as  an  elector. 
"  The  question  may  be  asked  of  me,  what  security 
I  have  in  my  power  to  offer,  if  the  majority  of  the 
American  people  should  select  me  for  their  chief  mag 
istrate,  that  I  would  adopt  the  principles  which  I  have 
herein  laid  down  as  those  upon  which  my  administration 
would  be  conducted,  I  could  only  answer  by  referring  to 
my  conduct,  and  the  disposition  manifested  in  the  dis 
charge  of  the  duties  of  several  important  offices  which 
have  heretofore  been  conferred  upon  me.  If  the 
power  placed  in  my  hands  has,  on  even  a  single  occa 
sion,  been  used  for  any  purpose  other  than  that  for 
which  it  was  given,  or  retained  longer  than  was  nec 
essary  to  accomplish  the  objects  designated  by  those 
from  whom  the  trusts  were  received,  I  will  acknowl 
edge  that  either  will  constitute  a  sufficient  reason  for 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  329 

discrediting  any  promises  I  may  make  under  the  cir 
cumstances  in  which  I  am  now  placed. 

"  The  time  had  now  arrived  for  selecting  a  Presi 
dential  candidate  in  opposition  to  Martin  Yan  Buren, 
who  was  almost  the  only  man  the  democratic  party 
had  spoken  of  for  that  office.  Though  General  Har 
rison  was  defeated  in  1836,  by  causes  heretofore 
hastily  glanced  at,  his  friends  were  far  from  being 
discouraged  by  the  event.  On  the  contrary,  the  vote 
that  he  received,  in  spite  of  the  unfavorable  circum 
stances  under  which  he  entered  the  contest,  more  than 
ever  satisfied  them  that  he  might  be  elected  if  once 
the  whole  opposition  could  be  united  upon  him^  and 
their  hopes  were  greatly  strengthened  by  the  univer 
sal  dissatisfaction  that  prevailed  throughout  the  coun 
try  against  the  administration  of  Mr.  Van  Buren. 
Hitherto  the  whig  party  in  each  State  of  the  Union 
had  nominated  their  own  candidate  in  their  own  way ; 
but  the  necessity  had  gradually  made  itself  apparent 
that  some  mode  must  be  adopted  by  which  the  senti 
ment  of  the  whole  whig  party  could  be  concentrated 
upon  one  point.  Accordingly  a  caucus  of  the  whig 
members  of  Congress  was  held  at  Washington  on  the 
15th  of  May,  1838,  to  devise  some  plan  of  combining 
the  strength  of  the  opposition  against  Mr.  Van  Buren. 
They  finally  resolved  upon  a  national  convention  as 
the  organ  through  whom  the  will  of  that  party  should 
be  expressed,  and  it  was  decided  that  it  should  be 
held  at  Harrisburgh,  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  De 
cember,  1839,  each  State  to  be  entitled  to  as  many 
28* 


330  THE   LIFE   OF 

delegates  as  it  had  senators  and  representatives  in 
Congress. 

"  The  convention  met  at  Harrisburgh,  in  accord 
ance  with  this  appointment.  Delegates  were  in  attend 
ance  from  twenty-two  of  the  twenty-six  States.  It 
undoubtedly  combined  more  talent  and  patriotism, 
and  a  larger  number  of  the  eminent  men  of  the  nation 
'than  any  body  of  any  kind  that  ever  before  assem 
bled  in  this  country,  with  the  single  exception  of  the 
old  continental  Congress,  and  the  convention  which 
framed  our  national  constitution.  Amongst  them 
were  sixteen  ex-governors,  United  States  senators  and 
ex-senators,  members  of  Congress  and  ex-members, 
and  some  of  the  highest  officers  and  most  distinguished 
citizens  from  every  State  in  the  Union  that  was  rep 
resented.  And  they  assembled  with  motives  as  patri 
otic  and  purposes  as  pure  as  their  characters  were  high. 
They  saw,  or  thought  they  saw,  that  the  best  interests 
of  the  country  required  a  change  in  the  administra 
tion,  and  they  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  the  duty 
with  which  they  had  been  delegated  with  a  disposition 
to  sacrifice  every  personal  consideration,  and  relin 
quish  all  personal  preferences  to  the  general  good. 

Mr.  Webster  having  requested  that  his  name 
should  not  be  brought  before  the  convention,  the  only 
candidates  were  William  Henry  Harrison,  Winfield 
Scott  and  Henry  Clay.  The  friends  of  each  urged 
their  favorite  with  all  the  zeal  and  warmth  their  high 
characters,  great  talents,  and  important  public  ser 
vices  were  so  well  calculated  to  inspire.  The  choice, 


WILLIAM    HENEY   HARRISON.  331 

after  an  ardent  contest,  fell  upon  General  Harrison ; 
and  then  it  was  that  the  real  patriotism  of  the  con 
vention  exhibited  itself  in  all  its  force,  and  in  its  true 
colors.  The  moment  the  nomination  was  known,  all 
the  warmth  of  feeling  that  had  been  engendered  by 
an  exciting  canvass  was  forgotten,  and  the  States,  one 
after  another,  through  one  or  more  of  their  delegates, 
cordially,  eloquently,  nobly,  responded  to  it ;  the  only 
rivalry  being  who  should  be  the  first  to  show  that  if 
he  had  preferred  either  General  Scott  or  Mr.  Clay 
to  the  successful  candidate,  it  was  not  because  they 
had  any  doubt  of  his  patriotism,  his  abilities  or  his 
honesty. 

The  generous  cordiality  with  which  this  nomina 
tion  was  received  by  the  convention  was  but  the  pre 
monitory  symptoms  of  the  deep  satisfaction  which  it 
created  amongst  the  people  themselves.  They  were 
already  ripe  for  a  revolution  in  the  administration, 
and  when  the  name  of  a  man  who  had  not  only  dis 
tinguished  himself  as  one  of  the  first  captains  of  the 
day,  but  who  had  proved  himself  an  accomplished 
statesman,  and,  above  all,  an  honest  man  and  a  well- 
tried  patriot,  the  popular  feeling  broke  out  in  such 
exhibitions  of  enthusiasm  as  this  nor  any  other  coun 
try  ever  before  witnessed.  There  was  undoubtedly 
some  little  disappointment  amongst  the  friends  of  the 
unsuccessful  candidates,  but  it  was  comparatively  only 
momentary.  The  canvass  gave  rise  to  a  system  of 
immense  mass  meetings,  at  which  the  people  met  by 
fens  and  twenties,  and  fifties  of  thousands,  to  listen 


332  THE   LIFE   OP 

to  the  discussion  of  party  principles,  and  to  a  mode 
of  electioneering  as  novel  as  it  was  exciting. 

At  such  times  as  the  several  States  had  determined 
the  election  took  place,  and  General  Harrison  received 
the  electoral  vote  of  twenty  of  the  twenty-six  States, 
and  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  electoral  votes  of  the 
two  hundred  and  ninety-four,  Mr.  Van  Buren  receiv 
ing  the  vote  of  six  States  and  sixty  electoral  votes. 
There  were  two  millions,  three  hundred  and  ninety- 
five  thousand,  nine  hundred  votes  polled,  of  which 
General  Harrison  received  one  million,  two  hundred 
and  sixty-nine  thousand,  seven  hundred  and  sixty- 
three  ;  and  Mr.  Van  Buren  one  million,  one  hundred 
and  twenty-six  thousand,  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
seven,  giving  Harrison  a  majority  of  one  hundred  and 
forty-three  thousand,  six  hundred  and  forty-six  of  the 
popular  vote.  The  vote  of  the  electoral  colleges  was 
opened  in  Congress,  and  the  election  of  General  Har 
rison  as  President  of  the  United  States  was  officially 
declared. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  333 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

ON  the  4th  of  March,  1841,  General  Harrison 
was  inaugurated  as  eleventh  President  of  the  United 
States,  with  the  usual  ceremonies  of  that  important 
occasion.  The  oath  of  office  was  tended  him  by 
Chief  Justice  Taney.  The  event  drew  together  an 
immense  concourse  of  citizens  from  every  party  of  the 
Union,  to  witness  the  simple,  yet  imposing  and  sub 
lime  ceremony ;  and  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of 
his  high  position  with  as  bright  anticipations,  as  hon 
est  purposes,  and  as  firm  resolves  on  his  own  part, 
and  with  the  confidence  of  the  American  people  to  as 
great  an  extent  as  any  man  who  had  occupied  the 
position  since  Washington.  The  inaugural  address 
was  read  by  the  President,  from  the  steps  of  the  cap- 
itol,  in  a  voice  so  clear  and  distinct  as  to  have  been 
clearly  heard  by  the  vast  multitude  of  spectators 
present.  Though  of  great  length,  it  is  entitled  to  a 
place  in  a  work  of  this  character,  aside  from  its  im 
portant  declaration  of  principles,  and  the  lesson  of 
political  wisdom  it  contains.  It  is  given  below: 

"  Called  from  a  retirement  which  I  had  supposed 
was  to  continue  for  the  residue  of  my  life,  to  fill  the 


334  THE   LIFE   OP 

chief  executive  office  of  this  great  and  free  nation,  I 
appear  before  you,  fellow-citizens,  to  take  the  oath 
which  the  constitution  prescribes  as  a  necessary  qual 
ification  for  the  performance  of  its  duties;  and  in 
obedience  to  the  custom  coeval  with  our  government, 
and  what  I  believe  to  be  your  expectations,  I  proceed 
to  present  to  you  a  summary  of  the  principles  which 
will  govern  me  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  which  I 
shall  be  called  upon  to  perform. 

"  It  was  the  remark  of  a  Roman  consul,  in  an  early 
period  of  that  celebrated  republic,  that  a  most  striking 
contrast  was  observable  in  the  conduct  of  candidates  for 
offices  of  power  and  trust,  before  and  after  obtaining 
them — they  seldom  carrying  out  in  the  latter  case  the 
pledges  and  promises  made  in  the  former.  However 
much  the  world  may  have  improved  in  many  respects 
in  the  lapse  of  upwards  of  two  thousand  years  since 
the  remark  was  made  by  the  virtuous  and  indignant 
Roman,  I  fear  that  a  strict  examination  of  the  annals 
of  some  of  the  modern  elective  governments  would 
develop  similar  instances  of  violated  confidence. 

Although  the  fiat  of  the  people  has  gone  forth 
proclaiming  me  the  chief  magistrate  of  this  glorious 
Union,  nothing  on  their  part  remaining  to  be  done,  it 
may  be  thought  that  a  motive  may  exist  to  keep  up 
the  delusion  under  which  they  may  be  supposed  to 
have  acted  in  relation  to  my  principles  and  opinions, 
and  perhaps  there  may  be  some  in  this  assembly  who 
have  come  here  either  prepared  to  condemn  those  I 
shall  now  deliver,  or,  approving  them,  to  doubt  the 


WILLIAM   HENRY    HARRISON.  335 

sincerity  with  which  they  are  uttered ;  but  the  lapse 
of  a  few  months  will  confirm  or  dispel  their  fears. 
The  outlines  of  principles  to  govern  and  measures  to 
be  adopted,  by  an  administration  not  yet  begun,  will 
soon  be  exchanged  for  immutable  history ;  and  I  shall 
stand,  either  exonerated  by  my  countrymen,  or  classed 
with  the  mass  of  those  who  promised  that  they  might 
deceive,  and  flattered  with  the  intention  to  betray. 

"  However  strong  may  be  my  present  purpose  to 
realize  the  expectations  of  a  magnanimous  and  confid 
ing  people,  I  too  well  understand  the  infirmities  of 
human  nature  and  the  dangerous  temptations  to 
which  I  shall  be  exposed,  from  the  magnitude  of  the 
power  which  it  has  been  the  pleasure  of  the  peo 
ple  to  commit  to  my  hands,  not  to  place  my  chief 
confidence  upon  the  aid  of  that  Almighty  Power 
which  has  hitherto  protected  me,  and  enabled  me  to 
bring  to  favorable  issues  other  important,  but  still 
greatly  inferior,  trusts  heretofore  confided  to  me  by 
my  country. 

"  The  broad  foundation  upon  which  our  constitu 
tion  rests,  being  the  people — a  breath  of  theirs  having 
made,  as  a  breath  can  unmake,  change,  or  modify  it 
— it  can  be  assigned  to  none  of  the  great  divisions  of 
government  but  to  that  of  democracy.  If  such  is 
its  theory,  those  who  are  called  upon  to  administer  it 
must  recognize,  as  its  leading  principle,  the  duty  of 
shaping  their  measures  so  as  to  produce  the  greatest 
good  to  the  greatest  number.  But,  with  these  broad 
admissions,  if  we  would  compare  the  sovereignty  ac- 


336  THE   LIFE   OF 

knowledged  to  exist  in  the  mass  of  our  people,  with 
the  power  claimed  by  other  sovereignties,  even  by 
those  which  have  been  considered  most  purely  demo 
cratic,  we  shall  find  a  most  essential  difference ;  all 
others  lay  claim  to  power  limited  only  by  their  own 
will.  The  majority  of  our  citizens,  on  the  contrary, 
possess  a  sovereignty  with  an  amount  of  power  pre 
cisely  equal  to  that  which  has  been  granted  to  them 
by  the  parties  to  the  national  compact,  and  nothing 
beyond.  We  admit  of  no  government  by  divine 
right — believing  that,  so  far  as  power  is  concerned, 
the  beneficent  Creator  has  made  no  distinction  among 
men  ;  that  all  are  upon  an  equality ;  and  that  the 
only  legitimate  right  to  govern  is  an  express  grant 
of  power  from  the  governed.  The  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  is  the  instrument  containing  this  grant 
of  power  to  the  several  departments  composing  the 
government.  On  an  examination  of  that  instrument 
it  will  be  found  to  contain  declarations  of  power 
granted,  and  of  power  withheld.  The  latter  is  also 
susceptible  of  division  into  power  which  the  majority 
had  the  right  to  grant,  but  which  they  did  not  think 
proper  to  entrust  to  their  agents,  and  that  which  they 
could  not  have  granted,  not  being  possessed  by  them 
selves.  In  other  words,  there  are  certain  rights  pos 
sessed  by  each  individual  American  citizen,  which  in 
his  compact  with  the  others  he  has  never  surrendered. 
Some  of  them,  indeed,  he  is  unable  to  surrender, 
being  in  the  language  of  our  system  inalienable. 

The  boasted  privilege  of  a  Roman  citizen  was  to 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  337 

him  a  shield  only  against  a  petty  provincial  rule,  whilst 
the  proud  democrat  of  Athens  could  console  himself 
under  a  sentence  of  death  for  a  supposed  violation  of 
national  faith  which  no  one  understood,  and  which,  at 
times,  was  the  subject  of  the  mockery  of  all ;  or  of 
banishment  from  his  home,  his  family  and  his  coun 
try,  with  or  without  an  alleged  cause,  that  it  was  the 
act,  not  of  a  single  tyrant  or  hated  aristocracy,  but 
of  his  assembled  countrymen.  Far  different  is  the 
power  of  our  sovereignty.  It  can  interfere  with  no 
one's  faith,  prescribe  forms  of  worship  for  no  one's 
observance,  inflict  no  punishment  but  after  well  ascer 
tained  guilt,  the  result  of  investigation  under  rules 
prescribed  by  the  constitution  itself.  These  precious 
privileges,  and  these,  scarcely  less  important,  of  giving 
expression  to  his  thoughts  and  opinions,  either  by 
writing  or  speaking,  unrestrained  but  by  the  liability 
for  injury  to  others,  and  that  of  a  full  participation 
in  all  advantages  which  flow  from  the  government, 
the  acknowledged  property  of  all,  the  American  citi 
zen  derives  from  no  charter  granted  by  his  fellow- 
man.  He  claims  them  because  he  is  himself  a  man ; 
fashioned  by  the  same  Almighty  hand  as  the  rest  of 
his  species,  and  entitled  to  a  full  share  of  the  bless 
ings  with  which  he  has  endowed  them.  Notwithstand 
ing  the  limited  sovereignty  possessed  by  the  people  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  restricted  grant  of  power  to 
the  government  which  they  have  adopted,  enough  has 
been  given  to  accomplish  all  the  objects  for  which  it 
was  created.  It  has  been  found  powerful  in  war,  and, 
29 


338  THE    LIFE   07 

hitherto,  justice  has  been  administered,  an  intimate 
union  effected,  domestic  tranquillity  preserved,  and 
personal  liberty  secured  to  the  citizen.  As  was  to 
be  expected,  however,  from  the  defect  of  language, 
and  the  necessarily  sententious  manner  in  which  the 
constitution  is  written,  disputes  have  arisen  as  to  the 
amount  of  power  which  it  has  actually  granted,  or 
was  intended  to  grant.  This  is  more  particularly  the 
case  in  relation  to  that  part  of  the  instrument  which 
treats  of  the  legislative  branch.  And  not  only  as 
regards  the  exercise  of  powers  claimed  under  a  gen 
eral  clause,  giving  that  body  the  authority  to  pass  all 
laws  necessary  to  carry  into  effect  the  specified  pow 
ers,  but  in  relation  to  the  latter  also.  It  is,  however, 
consolatory  to  reflect  that  most  of  the  instances  of 
alleged  departure  from  the  letter  or  spirit  of  the  con 
stitution  have  ultimately  received  the  sanction  of  a 
majority  of  the  people.  And  the  fact,  that  many  of 
our  statesmen,  most  distinguished  for  talent  and  pa 
triotism,  have  been,  at  one  time  or  other  of  their  po 
litical  career,  on  both  sides  of  each  of  the  most  warmly 
disputed  questions,  forces  upon  us  the  inference  that 
the  errors,  if  errors  there  were,  are  attributable  to 
the  intrinsic  difficulty,  in  many  instances,  of  ascer 
taining  the  intentions  of  the  frarners  of  the  constitu 
tion,  rather  than  the  influence  of  any  sinister  or  un 
patriotic  motive. 

"  But  the  great  danger  to  our  institutions  does 
not  appear  to  me  to  be  in  a  usurpation,  by  the  gov 
ernment,  of  power  not  granted  by  the  people,  but  by 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  339 

the  accumulation,  in  one  of  the  departments,  of 
that  which  was  assigned  to  others.  Limited  as  are 
the  powers  which  have  been  granted,  still  enough  have 
been  granted  to  constitute  a  despotism,  if  concen 
trated  in  one  of  the  departments.  Many  of  the  stern 
est  republicans  of  the  day  were  alarmed  at  the  extent 
of  the  power  which  has  been  granted  to  the  federal 
government,  and  more  particularly  of  that  portion 
which  has  been  assigned  to  the  executive  branch. 
There  were  in  it  features  which  appeared  not  to  be  in 
harmony  with  their  ideas  of  a  simple  representative 
democracy  or  republic ;  and  knowing  the  tendency  of 
power  to  increase  itself,  particularly  when  exercised 
by  a  single  individual,  predictions  were  made  that,  at 
no  very  remote  period,  the  government  would  termin 
ate  in  virtual  monarchy.  It  would  not  become  me  to 
say  that  the  fears  of  those  patriots  would  not  have 
been  already  realized.  But  as  I  sincerely  believe 
that  the  tendency  of  measures  and  of  men's  opinions, 
for  some  years  past,  has  been  in  that  direction,  it  is, 
I  conceive,  strictly  proper  that  I  should  take  this  oc 
casion  to  repeat  the  assurances  I  have  heretofore 
given  of  my  determination  to  arrest  the  progress  of 
that  tendency,  if  it  really  exist,  and  restore  the  gov 
ernment  to  its  pristine  health  and  vigor,  as  far  as 
this  can  be  affected  by  any  legitimate  exercise  of  the 
power  placed  in  my  hands. 

"  I  proceed  to  state,  in  as  summary  a  manner  as 
I  can,  my  opinion  of  the  sources  of  the  evils  which 
have  been  so  extensively  complained  of,  and  the  con- 


340  THE   LIFE   OF 

nectives  which  may  be  applied.  Some  of  the  former 
are  unquestionably  to  be  found  in  the  defects  of  the 
constitution  ;  others,  in  my  judgment,  are  attributable 
to  a  misconstruction  of  some  of  its  provisions.  Of  the 
former  is  the  elligibility  of  the  same  individual  to  a  sec 
ond  term  of  the  presidency.  The  sagacious  mind  of  Mr. 
Jefferson  early  saw  and  lamented  this  error,  and  at- 
lempts  have  been  made,  hitherto  without  success,  to 
apply  the  amendatory  power  of  the  States  to  its  cor 
rection. 

"  As,  however,  one  mode  of  correction  is  in  the 
power  of  every  President,  and  consequently  in  mine, 
it  would  be  useless,  and  perhaps  invidious,  to  enume 
rate  the  evils  of  which,  in  the  opinion  of  many  of  our 
fellow-citizens,  this  error  of  the  sages  who  framed  the 
constitution  may  have^been  the  source  and  the  bitter 
fruits  which  we  are  still  to  gather  from  it,  if  it  con 
tinues  to  disfigure  our  system.  It  may  te  observed, 
however,  as  a  general  remark,  that  republics  can 
commit  no  greater  error  than  to  adopt  or  continue 
any  feature  in  their  systems  of  government  which  may 
be  calculated  to  create  or  increase  the  love  of  power 
in  the  bosoms  of  those  to  whom  necessity  obliges  them 
to  commit  the  management  of  their  affairs.  And, 
surely,  nothing  is  more  likely  to  produce  such  a  state 
of  mind  than  the  long  continuance  of  an  office  of  high 
trust.  Nothing  can  be  more  corrupting,  nothing  more 
destructive,  of  all  those  noble  feelings  which  belong -to 
the  character  of  a  devoted  republican  patriot.  When 
this  corrupting  passion  once  takes  possession  of  the 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  341 

human  mind,  like  the  love  of  gold,  it  becomes  insati 
able.  It  is  the  never-dying  worm  in  his  bosom,  grows 
with  his  growth,  and  strengthens  with  the  declining 
years  of  its  victim.  If  this  is  true,  it  is  the  part  of 
wisdom  for  a  republic  to  limit  the  service  of  that  offi 
cer,  at  least,  to  whom  she  has  intrusted  the  manage 
ment  of  her  foreign  relations,  the  execution  of  her 
laws,  and  the  command  of  her  armies  and  navies, 
to  a  period  so  short  as  to  prevent  his  forgetting  that 
he  is  the  accountable  agent,  not  the  principal — the 
servant,  not  the  master.  Until  an  amendment  of 
the  constitution  can  be  effected,  public  opinion  may 
secure  the  desired  object.  I  give  my  aid  to  it  by 
renewing  the  pledge  heretofore  given,  that  under  no 
circumstances  will  I  consent  to  serve  a  second  term. 
"But  if  there  is  danger  to  public  liberty  from  the 
acknowledged  defects  of  the  constitution,  in  the  want 
of  limit  to  the  continuance  of  the  executive  power  in 
the  same  hands,  there  is,  I  apprehend,  not  much  less 
from  a  misconstruction  of  that  instrument,  as  it  re 
gards  the  powers  actually  given.  I  cannot  conceive 
that,  by  a  fair  construction,  any  or  either  of  its  pro 
visions  would  be  found  to  constitute  the  President  a 
part  of  the  legislative  power.  It  cannot  be  claimed 
from  the  power  to  recommend,  since,  although  en 
joined  as  a  duty  upon  him,  it  is  a  privilege  which  he 
holds  in  common  with  every  other  citizen.  And  al 
though  there  may  be  something  more  of  confidence  in 
the  propriety  of  the  measures  recommended  in  the  one 
case  than  in  the  other,  in  the  obligations  of  ultimate 
29* 


342  THE   LIFE    OF 

decision  there  can  be  no  difference.  In  the  language 
of  the  constitution,  l  all  legislative  powers'  which  it 
grants  'are  vested  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States.'  It  would  be  a  solecism  in  language  to  say 
that  any  portion  of  these  is  not  included  in  the  whole. 
"  It  may  be  said,  indeed,  that  the  constitution  has 
given  to  the  executive  the  power  to  annul  the  acts  of 
the  legislative  body  by  refusing  to  them  his  assent. 
So  a  similar  power  has  necessarily  resulted  from  that 
instrument  to  the  judiciary,  and  yet  the  judiciary 
forms  no  part  of  the  legislature.  There  is,  it  is  true, 
this  difference  between  these  grants  of  power  ;  the 
executive  can  put  his  negative  upon  the  acts  of  the 
legislature  for  other  cause  than  that  of  want  of 
conformity  to  the  constitution ;  whilst  the  judiciary 
can  only  declare  void  those  which  violate  that  instru 
ment.  But  the  decision  of  the  judiciary  is  final  in 
such  a  case  ^  whereas,  in  every  instance  where  the 
veto  of  the  executive  is  applied,  it  may  be  overcome 
by  a  veto  of  two-thirds  of  both  houses  of  Congress. 
The  negative  upon  the  acts  of  the  legislature,  by  the 
executive  authority,  and  that  in  the  hands  of  one  in 
dividual,  would  seem  to  be  an  incongruity  in  our  sys 
tem.  Like  some  others  of  a  similar  character,  how 
ever,  it  appeared  to  be  highly  expedient,  and  if  used 
only  with  the  forbearance  and  in  the  spirit  which  was 
intended  by  its  authors,  it  may  be  productive  of  great 
good,  and  be  found  one  of  the  best  safe-guards  to  the 
Union.  At  the  period  of  the  formation,  the  principle 
does  not  appear  to  have  enjoyed  much  favor  in  the 


VTILIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  843 

State  governments.  It  existed  in  but  two,  and  in  one 
of  these  was  a  plural  executive.  If  we  would  search 
for  the  motives  which  operated  upon  the  purely  pat 
riotic  and  enlightened  assembly  which  framed  the 
constitution  for  the  adoption  of  a  provision  so  appar 
ently  repugnant  to  the  leading  democratic  principle, 
that  the  majority  should  govern,  we  must  reject  the 
idea  that  they  anticipated  from  it  any  benefit  to  the 
ordinary  course  of  legislation.  They  knew  too  well 
the  high  degree  of  intelligence  which  existed  among 
the  people,  and  the  enlightened  character  of  the  State 
legislatures,  not  to  have  the  fullest  confidence  that 
the  two  bodies  elected  by  them  would  he  worthy  of 
such  constituents,  and,  of  course,  that  they  would  re 
quire  no  aid  in  conceiving  and  maturing  the  measures 
which  the  circumstances  of  the  country  might  require. 
And  it  is  preposterous  to  suppose  that  a  thought  could 
for  a  moment  have  been  entertained,  that  the  Presi 
dent,  placed  at  the  capital,  in  the  centre  of  the  coun 
try,  could  better  understand  the  wants  and  wishes  of 
the  people  than  their  own  immediate  representatives, 
who  spend  a  part  of  every  year  among  them,  living 
with  them,  often  laboring  with  them,  and  bound  to 
them  by  the  triple  tie  of  interest,  duty,  and  affection. 
To  assist  or  control  Congress,  then,  in  its  ordinary 
legislation,  could  not,  I  conceive,  have  been  the  mo 
tive  for  conferring  the  veto  power  on  the  President. 
This  argument  acquires  additional  force  from  the  fact 
of  its  never  having  been  thus  used  by  the  first  six 
Presidents — and  two  of  them  were  members  of  the 


344  THE    LIFE   OF 

convention  ;  one  presiding  over  its  deliberations,  and 
the  other  having  a  larger  share  in  consummating  the 
labors  of  that  august  body  than  any  other  person. 
But  if  bills  were  never  returned  to  Congress  by  either 
of  the  Presidents  above  referred  to,  upon  the  ground 
of  their  being  inexpedient,  or  not  as  well  adapted  as 
they  might  be  to  the  wants  of  the  people,  the  veto 
was  applied  upon  that  of  want  of  conformity  to  the 
constitution,  or  because  errors  had  been  committed 
from  a  too  hasty  enactment. 

"  There  is  another  ground  for  the  adoption  of  the 
veto  principle,  which  had  probably  more  influence  in 
recommending  it  to  the  convention  than  any  other. 
I  refer  to  the  security  which  it  gives  to  the  just  and 
equitable  action  of  the  legislature  upon  all  parts  of 
the  Union.  It  could  not  but  have  occurred  to  the 
convention  that,  in  a  country  so  extensive,  embracing 
so  great  a  variety  of  soil  and  climate,  and  conse 
quently  of  products,  and  which,  from  the  same  causes, 
must  ever  exhibit  a  great  difference  in  the  amount  of 
population  of  its  various  sections,  calling  for  a  great 
diversity  in  the  employments  of  the  people,  that  the 
legislation  of  the  majority  might  not  always  justly 
regard  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  minority ;  and 
that  acts  of  this  character  might  be  passed  under  an 
express  grant  by  the  words  of  the  constitution,  and, 
therefore,  not  within  the  competency  of  the  judiciary 
to  declare  void.  That  however  enlightened  and  pat 
riotic  they  might  suppose,  from  past  experience,  the 
members  of  Congress  might  be,  and  however  largely 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  345 

partaking  in  general  of  the  liberal  feelings  of  the 
people,  it  was  impossible  to  expect  that  bodies  so  con 
stituted  should  not  sometimes  be  controlled  by  local 
interests  and  sectional  feelings.  It  was  proper,  there 
fore,  to  provide  some  umpire  from  whose  situation  and 
mode  of  appointment  more  independence  and  freedom 
from  such  influence  might  be  expected.  Such  a  one 
was  afforded  by  the  executive  department,  constituted 
by  the  constitution.  A  person  elected  to  that  high 
office,  having  his  constituents  in  every  section,  State 
and  sub-division  of  the  Union,  must  consider  himself 
bound  by  the  most  solemn  sanctions  to  guard,  protect 
and  defend  the  rights  of  all,  and  of  every  portion, 
great  or  small,  from  the  injustice  and  oppression  of 
the  rest.  I  consider  the  veto  power,  therefore,  given 
by  the  constitution  to  the  executive  of  the  United 
States  solely  as  a  conservative  power ;  to  be  used 
only, — first,  to  protect  the  constitution  from  violation ; 
secondly,  the  people  from  the  effects  of  hasty  legisla 
tion,  where  their  will  has  probably  been  disregarded 
or  not  well  understood ;  and,  thirdly,  to  prevent  the 
effects  of  combinations,  violative  of  the  rights  of  mi 
norities.  In  reference  to  the  second  of  these  objects, 
I  may  observe,  that  I  consider  it  the  right  and  the 
privilege  of  the  people  to  decide  disputed  points  of  the 
constitution,  arising  from  the  general  grant  of  power 
to  Congress  to  carry  into  effect  the  powers  expressly 
given.  And  I  believe  with  Mr.  Madison  that  repeated 
recognitions,  under  varied  circumstances,  in  acts  of 
the  legislative,  executive  and  judicial  branches  of  the 


346  THE  LIFE   OF 

government,  accompanied  by  indications  in  different 
modes  of  the  concurrence  of  the  general  will  of  the 
nation,  as  affording  to  the  President  sufficient  author 
ity  for  his  considering  such  disputed  points  as  settled. 

"  Upwards  of  half  a  century  has  elapsed  since  the 
adoption  of  our  present  form  of  government.  It  will 
be  an  object  more  highly  desirable  than  the  gratifica 
tion  of.  the  curiosity  of  speculative  statesmen  if  its 
precise  situation  could  be  ascertained,  and  a  fair  ex 
hibit  made  of  the  operations  of  each  of  its  depart 
ments  ;  of  the  powers  which  they  respectively  claim 
and  exercise ;  of  the  collisions  which  have  occurred 
between  them,  or  between  the  whole  government  and 
those  of  the  States,  or  either  of  them.  We  could  then 
compare  our  actual  condition  after  fifty  years'  trial 
of  our  system,  with  what  it  was  in  the  commencement 
of  its  operations,  and  ascertain  whether  the  predic 
tions  of  the  patriots  who  opposed  its  adoption,  or  the 
confident  hopes  of  its  advocates,  have  been  best  real 
ized.  The  great  dread  of  the  former  seems  to  have 
been,  that  the  reserved  powers  of  the  States  would  be 
absorbed  by  those  of  the  federal  government,  and  a 
consolidated  power  established,  leaving  to  the  States 
the  shadow  only  of  that  independent  action  for  which 
they  had  so  zealously  contended,  and  on  the  preser 
vation  of  which  they  relied  as  the  last  hope  of  liberty. 

"  Without  denying  that  the  result  to  which  they 
looked  with  so  much  apprehension  is  in  the  way  of 
being  realized,  it  is  obvious  that  they  did  not  clearly 
see  the  mode  of  its  accomplishment.  The  general 


WILLIAM   HENRY   HARRISON.  347 

government  has  siezed  upon  none  of  the  reserved 
rights  of  the  States.  As  far  as  any  open  warfare 
may  have  gone,  the  State  authorities  have  amply 
maintained  their  rights.  To  a  casual  observer,  our 
system  presents  no  appearance  of  discord  between  the 
different  members  which  compose  it.  Even  the  addi 
tion  of  many  new  ones  has  produced  no  jarring ;  they 
move  in  ther  respective  orbits  in  perfect  harmony 
with  the  central  head,  and  with  each  other.  But 
there  is  still  an  under  current  at  work,  by  which,  if 
not  seasonably  checked,  the  worst  apprehensions  of 
our  anti-federal  patriots  will  be  realized.  And  not 
only  will  the  State  authorities  be  overshadowed  by  the 
great  increase  of  the  power  in  the  executive  depart 
ment  of  the  general  government,  but  the  character  of 
that  government,  if  not  its  designation,  be  essentially 
and  radically  changed. 

"  This  state  of  things  has  been  in  part  effected  by 
causes  inherent  in  the  constitution,  and  in  part  by 
the  never-failing  tendency  of  political  power  to  in 
crease  itself.  By  making  the  President  the  sole  dis 
tributor  of  all  the  patronage  of  the  government,  the 
framers  of  the  constitution  do  not  appear  to  have  an 
ticipated  at  how  short  a  period  it  would  become  a 
formidable  instrument  to  control  the  free  operations 
of  the  State  governments.  Of  trifling  importance  at 
first,  it  had,  early  in  Mr.  Jeflerson's  administration, 
become  so  powerful  as  to  create  great  alarm  in  the 
mind  of  that  patriot,  from  the  potent  influence  it 
might  exert  in  controling  the  freedom  of  the  elec- 


348  THE    LIFE   OF 

tive  franchise.  If  such  could  have  then  been  the 
effect  of  its  influence,  how  much  greater  must  be  its 
danger  at  this  time,  quadrupled  in  amount,  as  it  cer 
tainly  is,  and  more  completely  under  the  control  of 
the  executive  will  than  their  construction  of  the  pow 
ers  allowed,  or  the  forbearing  characters,  of  all  the 
earlier  presidents  permitted  them  to  make.  But  it  is 
not  by  the  extent  of  its  patronage  alone  that  the  ex 
ecutive  department  has  become  dangerous,  but  by  the 
use  which  it  appears  may  be  made  of  the  appointing 
power  to  bring  under  its  control  the  whole  revenues 
of  the  country. 

"  The  constitution  has  declared  it  the  duty  of  the 
President  to  see  that  the  laws  are  executed,  and  it 
makes  him  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  armies  and 
navy  of  the  United  States.  If  the  opinion  of  the 
most  approved  writers  upon  that  species  of  mixed 
government  which  in  modern  Europe  is  termed  mon 
archy,  in  contradistinction  to  despotism,  is  correct, 
there  was  wanting  no  other  addition  to  the  powers  of 
our  chief  magistrate  to  stamp  a  monarchial  character 
on  our  government  but  the  control  of  the  public 
finances.  And  to  me  it  appears  indeed  that  any  one 
should  doubt  that  the  entire  control  which  a  President 
possesses  over  the  officers  who  have  the  custody  of 
the  public  monies  by  the  power  of  removal,  with  or 
without  cause,  does  for  all  mischievous  purpose,0,  at 
least,  virtually  subject  the  treasure  also  to  his  disposal. 
The  first  Roman  emperor,  in  his  attempt  to  seize  the 
sacred  treasure,  silenced  the  opposition  of  the  officer 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  349 

to  whose  charge  it  had  been  committed  by  a  signifi 
cant  allusion  to  his  sword.  By  a  selection  of  politi 
cal  instruments  for  the  care  of  the  public  money,  a 
reference  to  their  commission  by  a  President  would 
be  quite  as  effectual  an  argument  as  that  of  Caesar  to 
the  Roman  knight.  I  am  not  insensible  of  the  great 
difficulty  that  exists  in  devising  a  proper  plan  for  the 
safe-keeping  and  disbursement  of  the  public  revenues, 
and  I  know  the  importance  which  has  been  attached 
by  men  of  great  abilities  and  patriotism  to  the  divorce, 
as  it  is  called,  of  the  treasury  from  the  banking  insti 
tutions.  It  is  not  the  divorce  which  is  complained  of, 
but  the  unhallowed  union  of  the  treasury  with  the 
executive  department  which  has  created  such  exten 
sive  alarm.  To  this  danger  to  our  republican  institu 
tions,  and  that  created  by  the  influence  given  to  the 
executive  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  federal 
officers,  I  propose  to  apply  all  the  remedies  which 
may  be  at  my  command. 

"  It  was  certainly  a  great  error,  in  the  framers  of 
the  constitution,  not  to  have  made  the  officer  at  the 
head  of  the  treasury  department  entirely  independent 
of  the  executive.  He  should  at  least  have  been  re 
movable  only  upon  the  demand  of  the  popular  branch 
of  the  legislature.  I  have  determined  never  to  re 
move  a  secretary  of  the  treasury  without  communi 
cating  all  the  circumstances  attending  such  removal 
to  both  Houses  of  Congress.  The  influence  of  the 
executive  in  controling  the  freedom  of  the  elective 
franchise  through  the  medium  of  the  public  officers 
30 


350  THE    LIFE   OP 

can  be  effectually  checked  by  renewing  the  prohibi 
tion  published  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  forbidding  their  in 
terference  in  elections  further  than  giving  their  own 
Votes ;  and  their  own  independence  secured  by  an 
assurance  of  perfect  immunity,  in  exercising  this  sa 
cred  privilege  of  freemen  under  the  dictates  of  their 
own  unbiased  judgments.  Never,  with  my  consent, 
shall  an  officer  of  the  people,  compensated  for  his 
services  out  of  their  pockets,  become  the  pliant  instru 
ment  of  executive  will. 

"  There  is  no  part  of  the  means  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  executive  which  might  be  used  with 
greater  effect,  for  unhallowed  purposes,  than  the  con 
trol  of  the  public  press.  The  maxim  which  our  an 
cestors  derived  from  the  mother  country,  that  '  the 
freedom  of  the  press  is  the  great  bulwark  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty,'  is  one  of  the  most  precious  legacies 
which  they  have  left  us.  We  have  learned,  too,  from 
our  own,  as  well  as  the  experience  of  other  countries, 
that  golden  shackels,  by  whomsoever  or  by  whatever 
pretense  imposed,  are  as  fatal  to  it  as  the  iron  bonds 
of  despotism.  The  presses  in  the  necessary  employ 
ment  of  the  government  should  never  be  used  '  to 
clear  the  guilty  or  varnish  crimes.'  A  decent  and 
manly  examination  of  the  acts  of  the  government 
should  be  not  only  tolerated  but  encouraged. 

"  Upon  another  occasion  I  have  given  my  opinion, 
at  some  length,  upon  the  impropriety  of  executive  in 
terference  in  the  legislation  of  Congress.  That  the 
article  in  the  constitution  making  it  the  duty  of  the 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  351 

President  to  communicate  information,  and  author 
izing  him  to  recommend  measures,  was  not  intended 
to  make  him  the  source  of  legislation,  and,  in  partic 
ular,  that  he  should  never  be  looked  to  for  schemes 
of  finance.  It  would  be  very  strange,  indeed,  if  the 
constitution  should  have  strictly  forbidden  one  branch 
of  the  legislature  from  interfering  in  the  origination 
of  such  bills,  and  that  it  should  be  considered  proper 
that  an  altogether  different  department  of  the  govern 
ment  should  be  permitted  to  do  so.  Some  of  our  best 
political  maxims  and  principles  have  been  drawn  from 
our  parent  Isle.  There  are  others,  however,  which 
cannot  be  introduced  in  our  system  without  singular 
incongruity  and  the  production  of  much  mischief; 
and  this  I  conceive  to  be  one. 

"  No  matter  in  which  of  the  Houses  of  Parliament 
a  bill  may  originate,  nor  by  whom  introduced,  a  min 
ister  or  a  member  of  the  opposition,  by  the  fiction  of 
law,  or  rather  of  constitutional  principle,  the  sover 
eign  is  supposed  to  have  prepared  it  agreeably  to  his 
will,  and  then  submitted  it  to  Parliament  for  their 
'advice  and  consent.  Now  the  very  reverse  is  the  case 
here,  not  only  with  regard  to  the  principle,  but  the 
forms  prescribed  by  the  constitution.  The  principle 
certainly  assigns  to  the  only  body  constituted  by  the 
constitution  (the  legislative  body)  the  power  to  make 
laws,  and  the  forms  even  direct  that  the  enactment 
should  be  ascribed  to  them. 

"  The  Senate,  in  relation  to  revenue  bills,  have  the 
right  to  propose  amendments ;  and  so  has  the  execu* 


352  THE   LIFE   OP 

tive,  by  the  power  given  him  to  return  them  to  the 
House  of  Representatives  with  his  objections.  It  is 
in  his  power,  also,  to  propose  amendments  in  the  exist 
ing  revenue  laws,  suggested  by  his  observations  upon 
their  defective  or  injurious  operation.  But  the  deli 
cate  duty  of  devising  schemes  of  revenue  should  be 
left  where  the  constitution  has  placed  it — with  the 
immediate  representatives  of  the  people.  For  similar 
reasons,  the  mode  of  keeping  the  public  treasure 
should  be  prescribed  by  them;  and  the  farther  re 
moved  it  may  be  from  the  control  of  the  executive, 
the  more  wholesome  the  arrangement,  and  the  more 
in  accordance  with  republican  principle. 

"  Connected  with  this  subject  is  the  character  of 
the  currency.  The  idea  of  making  it  exclusively 
metallic,  however  well  intended,  appears  to  me  to  be 
fraught  with  more  fatal  consequences  than  any  other 
scheme,  having  no  relation  to  the  personal  rights  of 
the  citizen,  that  has  ever  been  devised.  If  any  single 
scheme  could  produce  the  effect  of  arresting,  at  once, 
that  mutation  of  condition  by  which  thousands  of  our 
most  indigent  fellow-citizens,  by  their  industry  and' 
enterprise,  are  raised  to  the  possession  of  wealth,  that 
is  the  one.  If  there  is  one  measure  better  calculated 
than  another  to  produce  that  state  of  things  so  much 
deprecated  by  all  true  republicans,  by  which  the  rich 
are  daily  adding  to  their  hoards,  and  the  poor  sinking 
deeper  into  penury,  it  is  an  exclusive  metallic  cur 
rency.  Or  if  there  is  a  process  by  which  the  char 
acter  of  the  country  for  generosity  and  nobleness  of 


WILLIAM   HENRY   HARRISON.  353 

feeling  may  be  destroyed  by  the  great  increase  and 
necessary  toleration  of  usury,  it  is  an  exclusive  me- 
tallic  currency. 

"  Amongst  the  other  duties  of  a  delicate  character 
which  the  President  is  called  upon  to  perform  is  the 
supervision  of  the  government  of  the  Territories  of 
the  United  States.  Those  of  them  which  are  destined 
to  become  members  of  our  great  political  family  are 
compensated  by  their  rapid  progress  from  infancy  to 
manhood,  for  the  partial  and  temporary  deprivation 
of  their  political  rights.  It  is  in  this  District  only 
where  American  citizens  are  to  be  found,  who,  under 
a  settled  system  of  policy,  are  deprived  of  many  im 
portant  political  privileges,  without  any  inspiring 
hope  as  to  the  future.  Their  only  consolation,  under 
circumstances  of  such  deprivation,  is  that  of  the  de 
voted  exterior  guards  of  a  camp — that  their  sufferings 
secure  tranquillity  and  safety  within.  Are  there  any 
of  their  countrymen  who  would  subject  them  to 
greater,  to  any  other,  humiliations  than  those  essen 
tially  necessary -to  the  security  of  the  object  for  which 
they  were  thus  separated  from  their  fellow-citizens  ? 
Are  their  rights  alone  not  to  be  guaranteed  by  the 
application  of  those  great  principles  upon  which  all 
our  constitutions  are  founded  ?  We  are  told  by  the 
greatest  of  British  orators  and  statesmen,  that  at  the 
commencement  of  the  war  of  the  revolution  the  most 
stupid  men  in  England  spoke  of  '  their  American  sub 
jects.'  Are  there,  indeed,  citizens  of  any  of  our 
States  who  have  dreamed  of  their  subjects  in  the  Dis- 
30* 


354  THE   LIFE   OP 

trict  of  Columbia  ?  Such  dreams  can  never  be  real 
ized  by  any  agency  of  mine. 

"  The  people  of  the  District  of  Columbia  are  not 
the  subjects  of  the  people  of  the  States,  but  free 
American  citizens.  Being  in  the  latter  condition, 
when  the  constitution  was  formed,  no  words  used  in 
that  instrument  could  have  been  intended  to  deprive 
them  of  that  character.  If  there  is  anything  in  the 
great  principle  of  inalienable  rights,  so  emphatically 
insisted  upon  in  our  Declaration  of  Independence, 
they  could  neither  make,  nor  the  United  States  accept, 
a  surrender  of  their  liberties  and  become  the  subjects, — 
in  other  words,  the  slaves, — of  their  former  fellow- 
citizens.  If  this  be  true,  and  it  will  scarcely  be  de 
nied  by  any  one  who  has  a  correct  idea  of  his  own 
rights  as  an  American  citizen,  the  grant  to  Congress 
of  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  the  District  of  Columbia 
can  be  interpreted,  so  far  as  respects  the  aggregate 
people  of  the  United  States,  as  meaning  nothing  more 
than  to  allow  to  Congress  the  controling  power  neces 
sary  to  afford  a  free  and  safe  exercise  of  the  functions 
assigned  to  the  general  government  by  the  constitu 
tion.  In  all  other  respects  the  legislation  of  Congress 
should  be  adapted  to  their  peculiar  position  and 
wants,  and  be  conformable  with  their  deliberate  opin 
ions  of  their  own  interests. 

"  I  have  spoken  of  the  necessity  of  keeping  the 
respective  departments  of  the  government,  as  well  as 
the  other  authorities  of  our  country,  within  their  ap 
propriate  orbits.  This  is  a  matter  of  difficulty  in 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  355 

some  cases,  as  the  powers  which  they  respectively 
claim  are  often  not  defined  by  very  distinct  lines. 

"  Mischievous,  however,  in  their  tendencies,  as  col 
lisions  of  this  kind  may  be,  those  which  arise  between 
the  respective  communities,  which  for  certain  purposes 
compose  one  nation,  are  much  more  so ;  for  no  such 
nation  can  long  exist  without  the  careful  culture  of 
those  feelings  of  confidence  and  affection  which  are 
the  effective  bonds  of  union  between  free  and  confed 
erated  States.  Strong  as  is  the  tie  of  interest,  it  has 
been  often  found  ineffectual.  Men,  blinded  by  their 
passions,  have  been  known  to  adopt  measures  for  their 
country  in  direct  opposition  to  all  the  suggestions  of 
policy.  The  alternative,  then,  is  to  destroy  or  keep 
down  a  bad  passion,  by  creating  and  fostering  a  good 
one ;  and  this  seems  to  be  the  corner-stone  upon  which 
our  American  political  architects  have  reared  the 
fabric  of  our  government.  The  cement  which  was 
^o  bind  it  and  perpetuate  its  existence  was  the  affec 
tionate  attachment  between  all  its  members.  To 
msure  the  continuance  of  this  feeling,  produced  at 
first  by  a  community  of  dangers,  of  sufferings  and  of 
interests,  the  advantages  of  each  were  made  accessible 
to  all. 

"  No  participation  in  any  good,  possessed  by  any 
member  of  an  extensive  confederacy,  except  in  do 
mestic  government,  was  withheld  from  the  citizen  of 
any  other  member.  By  a  process  attended  with  no 
difficulty,  no  delay,  no  expense  but  that  of  removal, 
the  citizen  of  one  might  become  the  citizen  of  any 


356  THE   LIFE   OP 

other,  and  successively  of  the  whole.  The  lines,  too, 
separating  powers  to  be  exercised  by  the  citizens  of 
one  State  from  those  of  another,  seem  to  be  so  dis 
tinctly  drawn  as  to  leave  no  room  for  misunderstand 
ing.  The  citizens  of  each  State  unite  in  their  persons 
all  the  privileges  which  that  character  confers,  and 
all  that  they  may  claim  as  citizens  of  the  United 
States ;  but  in  no  case  can  the  same  person,  at  the 
same  time,  act  as  the  citizen  of  two  separate  States ; 
and  Tie  is  therefore  positively  precluded  from  any 
interference  with  the  reserved  powers  of  any  State  but 
that  of  which  he  is,  for  the  time  being,  a  citizen.  He 
may  indeed  offer  to  the  citizens  of  other  States  his 
advice  as  to  their  management,  but  the  form  in  which 
it  is  tendered  is  left  to  his  own  discretion  and  sense 
of  propriety. 

"  It  may  be  observed,  however,  that  organized  as 
sociations  of  citizens,  requiring  compliance  with  their 
wishes,  too  much  resemble  the  recommendations  of 
Athens  to  her  allies — supported  by  an  armed  arid 
powerful  fleet.  It  was,  indeed,  to  the  ambition  of  the 
leading  States  of  Greece  to  control  the  domestic  con 
cerns  of  others  that  the  destruction  of  that  celebrated 
confederacy,  and  subsequently  of  all  its  members,  is 
mainly  to  be  attributed.  And  it  is  owing  to  the  ab 
sence  of  that  spirit  that  the  Helvetic  confederacy  has 
for  so  many  years  been  preserved.  Never  has  there 
been  seen  in  the  institutions  of  the  separate  members 
of  the  confederacy  more  elements  of  discord.  In  the 
principles  and  forms  of  government  and  religion,  as 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  357 

well  as  in  the  circumstances  of  the  several  countries, 
so  marked  a  discrepancy  was  observable,  as  to  promise 
anything  but  harmony  in  their  intercourse  or  perma 
nency  in  their  alliance ;  and  yet  for  ages  neither  has 
been  interrupted.  Content  with  the  positive  benefits 
which  their  union  produced,  with  the  dependence  and 
safety  from  foreign  aggression  which  it  secured,  these 
sagacious  people  respected  the  institutions  of  each 
other,  however  repugnant  to  their  own  principles  and 
prejudices. 

"  Our  confederacy,  fellow-citizens,  can  only  be 
preserved  by  the  same  forbearance.  Our  citizens 
must  be  content  with  the  exercise  of  the  powers  with 
which  the  constitution  clothes  them.  The  attempt  of 
those  of  one  State  to  control  the  domestic  institutions 
of  another  can  only  result  in  feelings  of  distrust  and 
jealousy — the  certain  harbingers  of  disunion,  vio 
lence,  civil  war,  and  the  ultimate  destruction  of  our 
free  institutions.  Our  confederacy  is  perfectly  illus 
trated  by  the  terms  and  principles  governing  a  com 
mon  co-partnership.  There  a  fund  of  power  is  to  be 
exercised  under  the  direction  of  the  joint  councils  of 
the  allied  members ;  but  that  which  has  been  reserved 
by  the  individual  members  is  intangible  by  the  com 
mon  government  or  the  individual  members  composing 
it.  To  attempt  it  finds  no  support  in  the  principles 
of  our  constitution.  It  should  be  our  constant  and 
earnest  endeavor  mutually  to  cultivate  a  spirit  of  con 
cord  and  harmony  among  the  various  parts  of  our 
confederacy.  Experience  has  abundantly  taught  ua 


358  THE   LIFE   OF 

that  the  agitation  by  citizens  of  one  part  of  the 
Union  of  a  subject  not  confided  to  the  general 
government,  but  exclusively  under  the  guardianship 
of  the  local  authorities,  is  productive  of  no  other 
consequences  than  bitterness,  alienation,  discord,  and 
injury  to  the  very  cause  which  is  intended  to  be 
advanced.  Of  all  the  great  interests  which  apper 
tain  to  our  country,  that  of  union,  cordial,  confiding, 
fraternal  union,  is  by  far  the  most  important, — 
since  it  is  the  only  true  and  sure  guaranty  of  all 
others. 

"  In  consequence  of  the  embarrassed  state  of  bu 
siness  arid  the  currency,  some  of  the  States  may  meet 
with  difficulty  in  their  financial  concerns.  However 
deeply  we  may  regret  anything  imprudent  or  excess 
ive  in  the  engagements  into  which  States  have  entered 
for  purposes  of  their  own,  it  does  not  become  us  to 
disparage  the  State  governments,  nor  to  discourage 
them  from  making  proper  efforts  for  their  own  relief; 
on  the  contrary,  it  is  our  duty  to  encourage  them,  to 
the  extent  of  our  constitutional  authority,  to  apply 
their  best  means,  and  cheerfully  to  make  all  necessary 
sacrifices,  and  submit  to  all  necessary  burdens,  to 
fulfill  their  engagements  and  maintain  their  credit ; 
for  the  character  and  credit  of  the  several  States  form 
part  of  the  character  and  credit  of  the  whole  country. 
The  resources  of  the  country  are  abundant,  the 
enterprise  and  activity  of  our  people  proverbial ; 
and  we  may  well  hope  that  wise  legislation  and  pru 
dent  administration,  by  the  respective  governments, 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  359 

each  acting  within  his  own  sphere,  will  restore  former 
prosperity. 

"  Unpleasant,  and  even  dangerous,  as  collisions 
may  sometimes  be  between  the  constituted  authorities 
or  the  citizens  of  our  country,  in  relation  to  the  lines 
which  separate  their  respective  jurisdictions,  the  re 
sults  can  be  of  no  vital  injury  to  our  institutions,  if 
that  ardent  patriotism,  that  devoted  attachment  to 
liberty,  that  spirit  of  moderation  and  forbearance  for 
which  our  countrymen  were  once  distinguished,  con 
tinue  to  be  cherished.  If  this  continues  to  be  the 
ruling  passion  of  our  souls,  the  weaker  feelings  of  the 
mistaken  enthusiast  will  be  corrected,  the  Utopian 
dreams  of  the  scheming  politician  dissipated,  and  the 
complicated  intrigues  of  the  demagogue  rendered 
harmless.  The  secret  of  liberty  is  the  sovereign  balm 
for  every  injury  which  our  institutions  may  receive. 
On  the  contrary,  no  care  that  can  be  used  in  the  con 
struction  of  our  government,  no  division  of  powers, 
no  distribution  of  checks  in  its  several  departments, 
will  prove  effectual  to  keep  us  a  free  people  if  this 
feeling  is  suffered  to  decay ;  and  decay  it  will  without 
constant  nurture.  To  the  neglect  of  this  duty,  the 
best  historians  agree  in  attributing  the  ruin  of  all  the 
republics  with  whose  existence  and  fall  their  writings 
have  made  us  acquainted.  The  same  causes  will  ever 
produce  the  same  effects ;  and  as  long  as  the  love  of 
power  is  a  dominant  passion  of  the  human  bosom, 
and  as  long  as  the  understanding  of  men  can  be 
warped  and  their  affections  changed,  by  operations 


360  THE   LIFE   OP 

on  their  passions  and  prejudices,  so  long  will  the  lib 
erty  of  a  people  depend  upon  their  own  constant  at 
tention  to  its  preservation.  The  danger  to  all  well- 
established  free  governments  arises  from  the  unwil 
lingness  of  the  people  to  believe  in  its  existence,  or 
from  the  influence  of  designing  men  diverting  their 
attention  from  the  quarter  whence  it  approaches  to  a 
source  from  which  it  can  never  come.  This  is  the  old 
trick  of  those  who  would  usurp  the  government  of 
their  country.  In  the  name  of  democracy  they  speak, 
warning  the  people  against  the  influence  of  wealth 
and  the  danger  of  aristocracy.  History,  ancient  and 
modern,  is  full  of  such  examples.  Caesar  became  the 
master  of  the  Roman  people  and  the  Senate,  under 
the  pretense  of  supporting  the  democratic  claims  of 
the  former  against  the  aristocracy  of  the  latter; 
Cromwell,  in  the  character  of  protector  of  the  liber 
ties  of  the  people,  became  the  dictator  of  England ; 
and  Bolivar  possessed  himself  of  unlimited  power 
with  the  title  of  his  country's  liberator.  There  is, 
on  the  contrary,  no  single  instance  on  record,  of  an 
extensive  and  well-established  republic  being  changed 
into  an  aristocracy.  The  tendency  of  all  such  gov 
ernments  in  their  decline  is  to  monarchy ;  and  in  the 
antagonist  principle  to  liberty  there  is  the  spirit  of 
faction — a  spirit  which  assumes  the  character,  and,  in 
times  of  great  excitement,  imposes  itself  upon  the 
people  as  the  genuine  spirit  of  freedom,  and  like  the 
false  Christs,  whose  coming  was  foretold  by  the  Sa 
vior,  seeks  to,  and  were  it  possible  would,  impose  upon 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  361 

the  true  arid  most  faithful  disciples  of  liberty.  It  is 
in  periods  like  this  that  it  behooves  the  people  to  be 
most  watchful  of  those  to  whom  they  have  intrusted 
power.  And  although  there  is  at  times  much  difficulty 
in  distinguishing  the  false  from  the  true  spirit,  a  calm 
and  dispassionate  investigation  will  detect  the  coun 
terfeit  as  well  by  the  character  of  its  operations  as 
the  results  which  are  produced.  The  true  spirit  of 
liberty,  although  devoted,  persevering,  bold,  and  un 
compromising  in  principle,  that  secured,  is  mild  and 
tolerant  and  scrupulous  as  to  the  means  it  employs ; 
whilst  the  spirit  of  party,  assuming  to  be  that  of  lib 
erty,  is  harsh,  vindictive  and  intolerant,  and  totally 
reckless  as  to  the  character  of  the  allies  which  it 
brings  to  the  aid  of  its  cause.  When  the  genuine 
spirit  of  liberty  animates  the  body  of  a  people  to  a 
thorough  examination  of  their  affairs,  it  leads  to  the 
excision  of  every  excrescence  which  may  have  fast 
ened  itself  upon  any  of  the  departments  of  the  gov 
ernment,  and  restores  the  system  to  its  pristine  health 
and  beauty.  But  the  reign  of  an  intolerant  spirit  of 
party  amongst  a  free  people  seldom  fails  to  result  in  a 
dangerous  accession  to  the  executive  power  introduced 
and  established  amidst  unusual  professions  of  devotion 
to  democracy. 

"  The  foregoing  remarks  relate  almost  exclusively 
to  matters  connected  with  our  domestic  concerns.  It 
may  be  proper,  however,  that  I  should  give  some  indi 
cations  to  my  fellow-citizens  of  my  proposed  course 
of  conduct  in  the  management  of  our  foreign  relations. 
31 


362  THE   LIFE   OP 

I  assure  them,  therefore,  that  it  is  my  intention  to  use 
every  means  in  my  power  to  preserve  the  friendly 
intercourse  which  now  so  happily  subsists  with  every 
foreign  nation ;  and  that  although,  of  course,  not 
well  informed  as  to  the  state  of  any  pending  negotia 
tions  with  any  of  them,  I  see  in  the  personal  charac 
ters  of  the  sovereigns,  as  well  as  in  the  mutual  interest 
of  our  own  and  of  the  government  with  which  our 
relations  are  most  intimate,  a  pleasing  guaranty  that 
the  harmony  so  important  to  the  interests  of  their 
subjects,  as  well  as  our  citizens,  will  not  be  interrupted 
by  the  advancement  of  any  claim  or  pretension  upon 
their  part  to  which  our  honor  would  not  permit 
us  to  yield.  Long  the  defender  of  my  country's 
rights  in  the  field,  I  trust  that  my  fellow-citizens 
will  not  see,  in  my  earnest  desire  to  preserve  peace 
with  foreign  powers,  any  indication  that  their  rights 
will  ever  be  sacrificed,  or  the  honor  of  the  na 
tion  tarnished,  by  any  admission  on  the  part  of 
their  chief  magistrate,  unworthy  of  their  former 
glory. 

"  In  our  intercourse  with  our  Aboriginal  neighbors, 
the  same  liberality  and  justice  which  marked  the 
course  prescribed  to  me  by  two  of  my  illustrious  pred 
ecessors,  when  acting  under  their  direction  in  the  dis 
charge  of  the  duty  of  superintendent  and  commis 
sioner,  shall  be  strictly  observed.  I  can  conceive  of 
no  more  sublime  spectacle — none  more  likely  to  pro 
pitiate  an  impartial  and  common  Creator — than  a  rigid 
adherence  to  the  principles  of  justice  on  the  part  of  a 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  363 

powerful  nation  in  its  transactions  with  a  weaker  and 
uncivilized  people,  whom  circumstances  have  placed 
at  its  disposal. 

"Before  concluding,  fellow-citizens,  I  must  say 
something  to  you  on  the  subject  of  the  parties  at  this 
time  existing  in  our  country.  To  me  it  appears  per 
fectly  clear  that  the  interest  of  that  country  requires 
that  the  violence  of  the  spirit,  by  which  those  parties 
are  at  this  time  governed,  must  be  greatly  mitigated, 
if  not  entirely  extinguished,  or  consequences  will  en 
sue  which  are  appalling  to  be  thought  of.  If  parties 
in  a  republic  are  necessary  to  secure  a  degree  of  vig 
ilance  sufficient  to  keep  the  republic  functionaries 
within  the  bounds  of  law  and  duty,  at  that  point  their 
usefulness  ends.  Beyond  that  they  become  destruc 
tive  of  public  virtue, — the  parents  of  a  spirit  antago 
nist  to  that  of  liberty,  and  eventually  its  inevitable 
conqueror.  We  have  examples  of  republics  where 
the  love  of  country  and  of  liberty,  at  one  time,  were 
the  dominant  passions  of  the  whole  mass  of  citizens ; 
and  yet,  with  the  contour  of  the  name  and  forms  of 
free  government,  not  a  vestige  of  these  qualities  re 
maining  in  the  bosom  of  any  one  of  its  citizens.  It 
was  the  beautiful  remark  of  a  distinguished  English 
writer,  that  'in  the  Roman  Senate,  Octavius  had  a 
party,  and  Anthony  a  party,  but  the  Commonwealth 
had  none.  '  Yet  the  Senate  continued  to  meet  in 
the  Temple  of  liberty,  to  talk  of  the  sacredness  and 
beauty  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  gaze  at  the  statues 
of  the  elder  Brutus  and  of  the  Curtii  and  Decii. 


364  THE    LIFE    OF 

And  the  people  assembled  in  the  forum,  not  as  in  the 
days  of  Camillas  and  the  Scipios,  to  cast  their  free 
votes  for  annual  magistrates,  or  pass  upon  the  acts  of 
the  Senate,  but  to  receive  from  the  hands  of  the  leaders 
of  the  respective  parties  their  share  of  the  spoils,  and 
to  shout  for  one  or  the  other,  as  those  collected  in 
Gaul,  or  Egypt,  and  the  Lesser  Asia,  would  furnish 
the  larger  dividend.  The  spirit  of  liberty  had  fled, 
and,  avoiding  the  abodes  of  civilized  man,  had  sought 
protection  in  the  wilds  of  Scythia  or  Scandinavia ; 
and  so,  under  the  operation  of  the  same  causes  and 
influences,  it  will  fly  from  our  capitol  and  our  forums. 
A  calamity  so  awful,  not  only  to  our  country,  but  to 
the  world,  must  be  deprecated  by  every  patriot ;  and 
every  tendency  to  a  state  of  things  likely  to  produce 
it,  immediately  checked.  Such  a  tendency  has  ex 
isted — does  exist.  Always  the  friend  of  my  country 
men,  never  their  flatterer,  it  becomes  my  duty  to  say 
to  them  from  this  high  place,  to  which  their  partiality 
has  exalted  me,  that  there  exists  in  the  land  a  spirit 
hostile  to  their  best  interests — hostile  to  liberty  itself. 
It  is  a  spirit  contracted  in  its  views,  selfish  in  its  ob 
ject.  It  looks  to  the  aggrandizement  of  a  few,  even 
to  the  destruction  of  the  interests  of  the  whole.  The 
entire  remedy  is  with  the  people.  Something,  how 
ever,  may  be  effected  by  the  means  which  they  have 
placed  in  my  hands.  It  is  union  that  we  want,  not 
of  a  party  for  the  sake  of  that  party,  but  a  union  of 
the  whole  country  for  the  sake  of  the  whole  country — 
for  the  defense  of  its  interests  and  its  honor  against 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  365 

foreign  aggression — for  the  defense  of  those  principles 
for  which  our  ancestors  so  gloriously  contended.  As 
far  as  it  depends  upon  me,  it  shall  be  accomplished. 
All  the  influence  that  I  possess  shall  be  exerted  to 
prevent  the  formation  at  least  of  an  executive  party 
in  the  halls  of  the  legislative  body.  I  wish  for  the 
support  of  no  member  of  that  body  to  any  measure 
of  mine  that  does  not  satisfy  his  judgment,  and  his 
sense  of  duty  to  those  from  whom  he  holds  his  ap 
pointment  ;  nor  any  confidence  in  advance  from  the 
people,  but  that  asked  for  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  to  give 
firmness  and  effect  to  the  legal  administration  of  their 
affairs. 

"  I  deem  the  present  occasion  sufficiently  import 
ant  and  solemn  to  justify  me  in  presenting  to  my  fel 
low-citizens  a  profound  reverence  for  the  Christian 
religion,  and  a  thorough  conviction  that  sound  morals, 
religious  liberty,  and  a  just  sense  of  religious  respon 
sibility,  are  essentially  connected  with  all  true  and 
lasting  happiness ;  arid  to  that  good  Being  who  has 
blessed  us  by  the  gifts  of  civil  and  religious  freedom, 
who  watched  over  and  prospered  the  labors  of  our 
fathers,  and  has  hitherto  preserved  to  us  institutions 
far  exceeding  in  excellence  those  of  any  other  people, 
let  us  unite  in  commending  every  interest  of  our  be 
loved  country  in  all  future  time. 

"  Fellow-citizens !  being  fully  invested  with  that 

high  office  to  which  the  partiality  of  my  countrymen 

has  called  me,  I  now  take  an  affectionate  leave  of  you. 

You  will  bear  with  you  to  your  homes  the  remem- 

31* 


366  THE    LIFE   OP 

brance  of  the  pledge  I  have  this  day  given  to  dis 
charge  all  the  high  duties  of  my  exalted  station, 
according  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  and  I  shall  enter 
upon  their  performance  with  entire  confidence  in  the 
support  of  a  just  and  generous  people. 


WILLIAM   HENRY   HARRISON.  867 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

HAVING  now  gone  through  all  the  requirements 
of  the  constitution  necessary  to  qualify  him  for  the 
discharge  of  the  duties  of  President  of  the  United 
States,  General  Harrison  promptly  set  himself  about 
the  great  work  of  correcting  whatever  abuses  may 
have  crept  into  the  administration  of  the  government, 
and  of  performing  the  pledges  he  had  made  before 
his  election  and  in  his  inaugural  address.  These 
pledges  had  been  made  from  an  honest  conviction  that 
they  were  not  only  just,  but  demanded  by  the  general 
good.  Having  therefore  been  made  in  good  faith,  he 
was  determined  to  carry  them  out  in  the  same,  so  far 
as  it  was  in  his  power  to  do  so.  Investigations  were 
instituted  into  the  various  branches  of  the  public  ser 
vice  with  a  view  to  those  reforms  which  the  country 
had  so  long  demanded  and  he  had  promised  to  intro 
duce,  and  many  corrupt  or  injurious  practices  marked 
out  for  correction.  And  if  he  had  been  spared  to  the 
country  to  serve  out  the  term  for  which  the  people 
elected  him,  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  would  have 
redeemed  all  his  pledges  to  the  country. 

Considering  it  a  great  abuse  of  power  to  bring 


368  THE   LIFE   OF 

the  patronage  of  the  government  into  conflict  with  the 
freedom  of  elections,  as  has  been  seen  both  by  his 
letters  before  his  election  and  his  inaugural  address, 
and  that  such  abuse  ought  to  be  corrected  wherever 
it  might  exist,  circulars  were  addressed  to  all  the 
heads  of  the  departments  on  the  20th  of  March,  de 
signed  to  effect  this  object.  They  were  directed  to 
furnish  information  to  all  officers  and  agents  in  their 
several  departments,  that  partisan  interference  in  pop 
ular  elections,  whether  of  State  officers  or  officers  of 
the  general  government,  and  that  for  whomsoever  or 
against  whomsoever  it  might  be  exercised,  or  the  pay 
ment  of  any  contribution  or  assessment  on  salaries, 
or  official  compensation  for  party  or  election  purposes, 
would  be  regarded  by  him  as  cause  of  removal. 

It  was  not  intended  that  any  officer  should  be 
restrained  in  the  free  and  proper  expression  and 
maintenance  of  his  opinions  respecting  public  men, 
or  public  measures,  or  in  the  exercise,  to  the  fullest 
degree,  of  the  constitutional  right  of  suffrage ;  but 
persons  employed  under  the  government,  and  paid  for 
their  services  out  of  the  public  treasury,  were  not  ex 
pected  to  take  an  active  or  officious  part  in  attempts 
to  influence  the  minds  or  votes  of  others,  such  con 
duct  being  deemed  inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of  the 
constitution  and  the  duties  of  public  agents  acting 
under  it.  He  expressed  his  determination,  that  while 
the  exercise  of  the  elective  franchise  by  the  people 
shall  be  free  from  undue  influence  of  official  stations 
and  authority,  so  far  as  depended  upon  him,  opinion 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  369 

should  also  be  free  among  the  officers  and  agents 
of  the  government.  He  wished  it  farther  announced 
and  understood,  that  from  all  collecting  and  disburs 
ing  officers  promptitude  in  rendering  accounts,  and 
entire  punctuality  in  paying  balances,  would  be  rigor 
ously  exacted. 

With  a  view  of  arresting  what  was  feared  to  be  a 
needless  and  extravagant  expenditure  of  money  upon 
the  public  works  in  the  city  of  Washington,  he  ap 
pointed  a  board  of  commissioners  or  examination  to 
investigate  the  subject  rigidly.  They  were  required  to 
report  upon  the  number  of  persons  employed  upon 
those  works,  exclusive  of  laborers,  what  was  their  re 
spective  duty,  what  compensation  was  paid  them,  and 
whether  there  was  any  just  ground  of  complaint 
against  any  of  these  in  regard  to  their  diligence  or 
skill,  or  in  regard  to  their  treatment  of  laborers. 
They  were  especially  instructed  to  inquire  into  no 
man's  political  opinions,  but  to  report  if  any  one  hav 
ing  the  power  of  appointing  and  removing  had  abused 
that  power,  or  in  any  way  violated  his  duty  for  party 
or  election  purposes. 

These  evidences  of  the  honesty  and  sincerity  of 
his  professions  were  received  with  lively  demonstra 
tions  of  satisfaction  by  the  public  at  large,  however 
little  encouraging  they  may  have  been  to  the  hopes 
and  aspirations  of  the  mere  politician.  They  gave 
assurance  that,  under  his  administration,  that  system 
of  prescription  which  had  excluded  every  man  from 
office,  however  deserving,  competent  or  needy,  whose 


370  THE   LIFE  OP 

political  principles  did  not  accord  with  the  ruling  ex 
ecutive,  was  to  be  repudiated,  and  all  the  benefits  of 
the  government  to  be  shared  by  the  people  equally. 
This  he  believed  to  be  the  theory  of  our  government, 
and  so  far  as  was  consistent  with  the  obligations  he 
admitted  himself  to  be  under  to  the  party  which  had 
placed  him  in  power,  he  determined  it  should  be  its 
practice. 

As  the  case  always  had  been,  and  as  it  is  always 
desirable  it  should  be,  under  our  democratic  form  of 
government,  upon  so  important  an  occasion  as  the 
change  of  rulers,  he  was  overwhelmed  with  visits  of 
all  classes,  actuated  either  by  motives  of  pure  friend 
ship  or  personal  interest ;  and  no  one  was  ever  denied 
an  interview.  Unlike  the  members  of  his  cabinet, 
and  indeed  the  members  of  most  American  cabinets, 
he  could  at  all  times  be  approached,  and  when  ap 
proached,  he  assumed  none  of  the  airs  which  men,  oc 
cupying  minor  positions,  too  frequently  think  it  nec 
essary  to  put  on  for  the  purpose  of  inspiring  that 
reverence  and  respect  which  their  characters  would 
never  command.  He  understood  that  real  greatness 
could  not  be  affected  by  a  familiar  and  free  intercourse 
with  the  people,  and  that  it  would  never  fail  to  re 
strain  the  impertinent  and  ill-bred.  An  assumption 
of  superiority,  and  that  supercilious  bearing  so  com 
mon  to  naturally  vulgar  minds,  however  high  in  office, 
found  no  countenance  in  his  practice,  nor  no  sympathy 
in  his  disposition.  This  practice  of  General  Harrison, 
of  receiving  visits  from  all  who  sought  access  to  him, 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  371 

and  the  multiplicity  of  public  duties  necessarily  attend 
ant  on  his  first  entrance  into  office,  produced  not  only 
great  fatigue  of  body,  but  anxiety  of  mind.  In  ad 
dition  to  this,  he  was  overtaken  by  a  violent  shower 
in  one  of  his  usual  morning  walks,  and  his  clothes 
became  thoroughly  wet.  This  was  followed  by  a  slight 
cold ;  but  he  paid  little  attention  to  it,  although  on 
the  25th  of  March  he  was  really  ill,  and  continued  to 
receive  visits  from  all,  as  when  in  health,  refusing  to 
postpone  any  of  his  official  duties.  Even  when  thus 
indisposed,  and  pressed  with  cares  too  great  for  a  man 
in  sound  health  to  endure,  he  neglected  no  demand 
upon  his  friendship  and  benevolence.  Accidentally 
meeting  an  old  acquaintance  in  distress,  he  took  him 
to  the  President's  house,  gave  him  a  breakfast,  and 
after  conversing  with  him  a  while  upon  events  long 
since  passed,  he  wrote  to  the  collector  of  New  York 
the  following  (his  last)  letter,  dated  March  26,  1841, 
for  the  purpose,  as  will  be  seen,  of  aiding  him  in  his 
adversity : 

"  The  bearer  hereof,  Mr.  Thomas  Tucker,  a  vet 
eran  seaman,  came  with  me  from  Carthagenia,  as  the 
mate  of  the  brig  Montidia,  in  the  year  1829.  In  an 
association  of  several  weeks,  I  formed  a  high  opinion 
of  his  character ;  so  much  so,  that  (expressing  a  de 
sire  to  leave  the  sea)  I  invited  him  to  come  to  North 
Bend,  and  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days  with  me. 

"  Subsequent  misfortunes  prevented  his  doing  so, 
as  he  was  desirous  to  bring  some  money  with  him  to 
commence  farming  operations.  His  bad  fortune  still 


872  THE   LIFE    OP 

continues,  having  been  several  times  shipwrecked 
within  a  few  years.  He  says  that  himself  and  fam 
ily  are  now  in  such  a  situation  that  the  humblest  em 
ployment  would  be  acceptable  to  him.  I  write  this  to 
recommend  him  to  your  favorable  notice.  I  am  per 
suaded  that  no  one  possesses,  in  a  higher  degree,  the  vir 
tues  of  ijdelity,  honesty  and  indefatigable  industry,  and 
I  might  add,  indomitable  bravery,  if  that  was  a  quality 
necessary  for  the  kind  of  employment  he  seeks." 

On  the  27th  of  March  he  was  seized  with  a  chill, 
and  other  symptoms  of  fever.  The  next  day,  pneu 
monia,  with  congestion  of  the  liver,  and  derangement 
of  the  stomach  and  bowels,  was  ascertained  to  exist. 
In  spite  of  all  the  efforts  and  skill  of  his  physicians 
to  arrest  the  disease,  it  continued  to  increase  in  vio 
lence  until  the  3rd  of  April,  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  A  profuse  diarrhea  then  came  on,  un 
der  which  he  rapidly  sank ;  and  at  thirty  minutes  past 
twelve  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  April  4th,  1841, 
he  breathed  his  last.  His  last  words  were,  as  heard 
by  Dr.  Worthington,  one  of  his  consulting  physicians  : 
Sir,  I  wish  you  to  understand  the  true  principles  of 
the  government.  I  wish  them  carried  out.  I  atsk 
nothing  more."  Thus  died  General  William  Henry 
Harrison,  the  ninth  President  of  the  United  States, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years  and  twenty-six  days, 
after  having  filled  the  office  of  President  but  one 
single  short  month. 

This  great  national  calamity  fell  upon  the  public 
mind  with  startling  suddenness.  Almost  before  the 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  S7d 

sound  of  the  cannon  which  announced  to  the  people 
that  he  had  been  invested  with  the  office  of  Pres 
ident  had  died  away,  and  before  the  news  had  spread 
scarcely  beyond  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  sad 
intelligence  was  received  that  he  had  ceased  to  exist. 
The  affecting  event,  feared,  perhaps,  by  those  who 
best  knew  General  Harrison's  enfeebled  constitution, 
was  at  once  officially  made  public  in  the  following 
document,  signed  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  all 
the  other  heads  of  departments : 

"An  All- wise  Providence  having  suddenly  re 
moved  from  this  life  WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON,  late 
President  of  the  United  States,  we  have  thought  it 
our  duty,  in  the  recess  of  Congress,  and  in  the  ab 
sence  of  the  Vice-President  from  the  seat  of  govern 
ment,  to  make  this  afflicting  bereavement  known  to 
the  country,  by  this  declaration  under  our  hands. 
He  died  at  the  President's  House,  in  this  city,  this 
4th  day  of  April,  Anno  Domini  1841,  at  thirty  min 
utes  before  one  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

"  The  people  of  the  United  States,  overwhelmed 
like  ourselves,  by  an  event  so  unexpected  and  so  mel 
ancholy,  will  derive  consolation  from  knowing  that 
his  death  was  calm  and  resigned  as  his  life  had  been 
patriotic,  useful  and  distinguished ;  and  that  the  last 
utterance  from  his  lips  expressed  a  fervent  desire  for 
the  perpetuity  of  the  constitution  and  the  preservation 
of  its  true  principles.  In  death,  as  in  life,  the  hap 
piness  of  his  country  was  uppermost  in  his  thoughts." 

Wednesday,  April  Tth,  was  selected  for  perform- 
32 


H74  THE  LIFE  or 

ing  the  funeral  solemnities  of  the  late  President.  The 
ceremony  was  as  solemn  as  it  was  imposing.  Every 
countenance  was  impressed  with  the  most  profound 
melancholy.  The  military  portion  of  the  procession  was 
volunteer  companies  from  Washington  city,  George 
town,  Baltimore,  Philadelphia  and  various  other  cities, 
together  with  several  companies  of  marines  and  United 
States  artillerists,  all  accompanied  by  the  mounted 
and  dismounted  officers  of  the  army,  navy,  militia 
and  volunteers.  The  civic  part  of  it  consisted  of  the 
municipal  officers  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  the 
clergy,  the  judiciary  and  executive  officers  of  the 
government,  including  the  President  of  the  United 
States  and  all  the  heads  of  bureaus.  The  procession 
occupied  two  miles  in  length.  The  religious  ceremo 
nies  at  the  grave  were  performed  by  the  Reverend 
Mr.  Healey,  of  the  Episcopal  church.* 

As  the  news  of  General  Harrison's  death  spread 
throughout  the  Union,  the  profound  respect  which  was 
entertained  for  his  character,  and  the  gratitude  they 
felt  for  his  important  public  services,  begun  to  be  ex 
hibited  in  their  full  force.  Every  demonstration  in 
the  power  of  the  people  to  show  was  bestowed  upon 
his  memory.  All  party  animosity  was  at  once  for 
gotten,  and  the  whole  people  united  in  the  perform 
ance  of  ceremonies  appropriate  to  the  occasion.  In 
almost  every  city  and  town  in  the  Union  funeral  ser 
mons  were  delivered,  processions  got  up  and  addresses 
delivered;  and  the  most  profound  grief  was  every- 
Appendix  (D). 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARRISON.  875 

where,  and  by  all  parties  and  sects,  evinced.  The 
nation  for  a  time  was  almost  literally  clothed  in 
mourning,  and  there  was  a  general  rivalry  amongst 
those  so  lately  his  warm  political  opponents  who  should 
best  show  how  little  their  political  differences  blinded 
them  to  his  real  merits  and  many  noble  virtues. 

On  the  31st  of  May  following,  Congress  assem 
bled  in  extra  session,  in  pursuance  of  a  proclamation 
issued  by  General  Harrison ;  and  on  the  4th  of  June, 
passed  the  following  resolutions  in  relation  to  the 
national  loss : 

"  The  melancholy  event  of  the  death  of  William 
Henry  Harrison,  late  President  of  the  United  States, 
having  occurred  during  the  recess  of  Congress,  and 
the  two  houses  sharing  in  the  general  grief,  and  de 
siring  to  manifest  their  sensibilities  upon  the  occasion 
of  that  public  bereavement,  therefore  : 

"Resolved,  ly  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Con 
gress  assembled,  That  the  chairs  of  the  President  of 
the  Senate  and  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  be  shrouded  in  black  during  the  residue  of  the 
session ;  and  that  the  President  pro  tempore  of  the 
Senate,  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  the  members  and  officers  of  both  Houses,  wear  the 
usual  badge  of  mourning  for  thirty  days. 

"Resolved,  That  the  President  of  the  United 
States  be  requested  to  transmit  a  copy  of  these  reso 
lutions  to  Mrs.  Harrison,  and  to  assure  her  of  the 
profound  respect  of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress  for 


376  THE   LIFE   OP 

her  person  and  character,  and  of  their  sincere  condo 
lence  with  the  late  dispensation  of  Providence." 

But  Congress  went  still  further  than  this.  On  the 
9th  of  June,  John  Quincy  Adams  reported  a  bill  in 
tha  House  of  Representatives  in  favor  of  a  grant  of 
money  to  the  widow  of  General  Harrison.  This  had 
been  suggested  to  Congress  by  Mr.  Tyler,  in  his  mes 
sage  at  the  opening  of  the  session.  He  said,  "  that 
the  preparations  necessary  for  his  removal  to  the  seat 
of  government,  in  view  of  a  residence  of  four  years, 
must  have  devolved  upon  the  late  President  heavy 
expenditures,  which,  if  permitted  to  burthen  the  lim 
ited  resources  of  his  private  fortune,  might  tend  to  the 
serious  embarrassment  of  his  surviving  family ;  and 
it  was  therefore  respectfully  submitted  to  Congress, 
whether  the  ordinary  principles  of  justice  would  not 
dictate  the  propriety  of  legislative  interposition." 

The  measure  was  also  urged  upon  Congress  from 
various  quarters  as  an  act  of  simple  justice  to  the 
family  of  Harrison.  He  had  occupied  positions  in 
which  he  might  have  amassed  an  immense  fortune,  if 
he  had  chosen  to  avail  himself  of  the  advantages 
placed  in  his  hands.  It  could  have  been  done  without 
any  real  injustice  to  government,  and  with  but  a  very 
slight  departure  from  the  principles  of  rectitude.  He 
chose  not  to  enrich  himself  by  any  doubtful  means. 
Poverty  in  his  estimation  was  far  preferable  to  riches 
thus  acquired.  These  and  other  considerations,  oper- 
nting  with  the  sympathy  felt  for  the  affliction  of  the 
vidow  of  Harrison,  an  appropriation  of  $25,000  was 


>V1LLIAM   HENRY    HARRISON.  877 

finally  made  to  Mrs.  Harrison.  The  bill  passed  the 
House,  on  the  18th  of  June,  by  a  vote  of  122  to  66, 
and  the  Senate  by  a  vote  of  28  to  16. 

General  Harrison's  personal  appearance  was  com 
manding,  and  his  manners  prepossessing.  He  was 
about  six  feet  high,  of  rather  slender  form,  straight, 
and  of  a  firm,  elastic  gait,  even  at  the  time  of  his 
election  to  the  presidency,  though  then  closely  bord 
ering  on  seventy.  He  had  a  keen,  penetrating  eye, 
denoting  quickness  of  apprehension,  promptness  and 
energy.  His  forehead  was  high,  broad  and  prom 
inent,  his  lips  rather  thin  and  compressed,  and  his 
whole  features  strongly  marked.  His  countenance 
was  expressive  of  the  genuine  kindness  and  philan 
thropy  which  his  whole  life  had  .practically  exempli 
fied.  There  was  that  in  his  personal  appearance 
which  indicated  him  as  a  man  of  not  an  ordinary 
character.  The  inherent  honesty  and  integrity  of 
his  nature  showed  forth  in  his  countenance. 

The  qualities  which  General  Harrison  displayed 
as  a  military  chieftain  are  now  universally  admitted 
to  be  of  the  very  highest  order.  Indeed  few  were 
ever  found,  even  during  the  violent  political  contest 
which  resulted  in  his  elevation  to  the  presidency,  hardy 
enough,  and  so  reckless  of  his  own  reputation,  as  to 
deny  him  the  merit  of  a  great  general.  As  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  north-western  army,  he  was 
intrusted  with  almost  unlimited  discretionary  powers, 
requiring  the  exercise  of  military  skill,  science  and 
ability,  such  as  few  commanders  of  American  armies 
32* 


378  THE   LIFE   OF 

have  ever  exhibited.  The  history  of  the  last  war  with 
England,  and  especially  the  misfortunes  that  befell 
so  many  of  our  generals  at  the  North  and  North-west, 
as  well  as  at  the  South,  proves  this  to  be  true.  While 
most  of  the  generals  in  command  of  our  armies  in  that 
war,  no  matter  how  eminent  and  how  successful  gen 
erally  they  may  have  been,  sometimes  meet  with 
reverses,  General  Harrison  never  lost  a  battle,  and 
never  committed  an  error  in  his  military  movements. 
This  was  the  peculiar  glory  of  General  Harrison  as  a 
commander.  This  uniform  success  was  the  result  of 
"an  almost  intuitive  sagacity,  great  power  of  combina 
tion,  with  prudence,  caution,  promptness  and  energy, 
combined  with  perfect  self-reliance  and  self-control." 
These  qualities  are  necessary  to  form  the  great,  or 
what  is  equivalent,  the  successful  general. 

It  has  been  claimed  that  in  many  points  the  mili 
tary  career  of  Harrison  bears  a  striking  analogy  to 
that  of  Washington, — that  the  same  extent  of  discre 
tionary  powers  and  responsibilities  were  assigned  to 
both,  that  both  had  the  same  difficulty  in  procuring 
supplies  of  troops  and  provisions,  and,  above  all,  that 
they  never  hazarded  the  grand  result  of  a  campaign, 
by  any  minor  enterprise,  however  tempting.  Both 
exercised  the  extensive  powers  with  which  they  were 
invested  without  any  invasion  of  the  laws,  or  the 
rights  of  citizens,  and  both  retired  to  the  peaceful 
pursuits  of  agriculture  when  the  objects  which  had 
called  them  to  the  field  had  been  effected.  This  is 
high  praise  to  General  Harrison,  as  the  parallel  has, 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON.  379 

at  least,  soue  ground  to  rest  upon,  though   nothing 
must  be  admitted  to  stand  almost  without  parallel. 

The  prominent  feature  of  General  Harrison's 
character  was  the  most  inflexible  and  rigid  integrity, 
his  devoted  patriotism,  his  keen  sense  of  honor,  and 
his  great  love  of  justice.  These  noble  virtues  marked 
his  whole  life  from  youth  to  old  age,  in  the  field  as 
well  as  in  the  council.  No  consideration  of  personal 
advantage,  of  whatever  character,  could  induce  him 
to  swerve  a  hair's  breadth  from  them.  During  twenty 
years  of  public  employment  he  had  numerous  oppor 
tunities  of  enriching  himself ;  but  he  sternly  rejected 
them  all,  and  retired  from  the  service  of  his  coun 
try  poorer  than  he  entered  it.  Of  the  three  million 
dollars  that  passed  through  his  hands  as  a  government 
agent,  not  a  single  dollar  ever  adhered  to  them.  So 
nice  were  his  feelings  upon  these  points  that  he  even 
refused  to  make  purchases  of  land,  lest  it  might  by 
possibility  be  charged  that  he  had  transcended  his  offi 
cial  authority.  Equally  sensitive  were  his  feelings  of 
honor,  with  the  single  exception  of  private  secretary, 
he  invariably  refused  to  appoint  any  of  his  relatives 
to  office. 

General  Harrison's  mind  was  of  a  good  order. 
He  possessed  excellent  natural  powers  of  mind,  and 
they  were  thoroughly  disciplined  and  well-directed. 
Few  men  possessed  a  sounder  or  better  judgment,  or 
had  more  sagacity  and  penetration.  His  scholarly 
attainments  were  far  above  mediocrity.  In  general 
history  he  was  thoroughly  versed,  and  his  notes  upon 


380  THE   LIFE   OP 

that  important  branch  of  education  possess  many  val 
uable  suggestions.  With  the  public  characters  and 
leading  events  of  both  ancient  and  modern  times  he 
was  intimately  familiar.  As  a  writer  he  ranks  among 
the  first  public  men  of  the  country  ;  and  many  of  his 
compositions  exhibit  felicity  of  expression,  strength 
of  thought,  and  sound,  practical  common  sense.  As 
a  speaker  he  was  easy,  graceful  and  fluent,  often  rising 
to  real  eloquence.  He  might  have  excelled  as  an  ora 
tor  had  he  failed  as  a  soldier,  and  the  renown  he  won 
in  the  field  might  have  been  eclipsed  by  that  he  pos 
sessed  in  the  Senate,  had  his  profession  led  him  in 
that  direction. 

No  man  possessed  a  kinder  or  more  benevolent 
heart.  His  feelings  were  ever  alive  to  the  sufferings 
or  misfortunes  of  those  about  him,  and  his  hand  was 
ever  open  to  relieve  the  necessities  of  the  needy. 
His  personal  address  and  manners  were  well  'suited  to 
win  the  favor  of  the  people,  as  he  was  open,  frank, 
and  courteous  in  his  intercourse  with  all.  There  was 
nothing  of  the  aristocrat  in  his  character ;  on  the  con 
trary,  he  was  purely  democratic  in  his  tastes  as  well 
as  in  his  inclinations.  While  President  of  the  nation 
he  was  as  easy  of  approach,  and  as  free  in  his  inter 
course  with  the  people,  as  when  only  the  plain  farmer 
of  North  Bend.  Courtesy  and  a  graceful  condescen 
sion,  united  with  ease  and  dignity  of  manners,  re 
lieved  every  one  of  embarrassment  while  in  his  pres 
ence. 

His  moral  character  was  above  reproach ;  though 


WILLIAM    HENRY   HARBISON.  381 

perhaps  not  a  professing  Christian,  he  entertained  the 
highest  and  most  profound  regard  for  the  Christian  re 
ligion.  This  he  did  not  fear  to  declare  as  well  in  his  in 
augural  address  as  upon  all  suitable  occasions  during 
the  brief  period  he  occupied  the  presidential  chair. 
Such,  imperfectly  drawn,  is  the  character, — and  such, 
imperfectly  recorded,  are  the  great  deeds  and  import 
ant  public  services, — of  William  Henry  Harrison. 
There  is  much  that  cannot  fail  to  be  admired  in  the 
one,  imperfectly  as  it  has  been  sketched,  and  much  to 
excite  the  gratitude  of  the  people  in  the  other,  imper 
fectly  as  they  have  been  recorded.  General  Harrison 
had  his  imperfections,  like  all  other  men,  but  that  his 
virtues  greatly  outweighed  them  must  be  the  verdict 
of  impartial  history.  His  errors,  whatever  they 
were,  were  never  permitted  to  affect  the  public  wel 
fare,  while  his  virtues  and  public  services  have  con 
tributed  something,  at  least,  to  the  happiness  of  the 
people,  and  much  to  the  honor  of  the  nation. 

A  single  circumstance  will  illustrate  his  high  sense 
of  justice  and  his  true  nobleness  of  soul  far  better 
than  any  studied  panegyric  could  do  :  A  few  years 
ago  it  was  ascertained  that  a  large  tract  of  land  near 
Cincinnati,  which  had  been  sold  some  time  before  for 
a  mere  trifle,  under  an  execution  against  the  original 
proprietors,  could  not  be  held  by  the  title  derived 
from  the  purchasers  on  account  of  some  irregularity 
in  the  proceedings.  The  legal  title  was  in  General 
Harrison  and  another  gentleman,  who  were  the  heirs 
at  law.  This  tract  of  land  was  exceedingly  valuable, 


382  THE   LIFE   OP 

and  would  have  constituted  a  princely  estate  for 
both  these  heirs,  had  they  chosen  to  insist  on  their 
legal  rights  ;  or  they  might  have  compromised  with 
the  purchaser.  But  General  Harrison  refused  to  do 
either  the  one  or  the  other.  He  had  never  yet  suf 
fered  his  own  interests  to  blind  him  to  other's  rights, 
and  on  being  informed  of  the  situation  of  the  property, 
he  and  his  co-heir  immediately  granted  deeds  in  fee 
simple  to  the  purchaser,  without  claiming  any  consid 
eration  except  the  trifling  difference  between  the  ac 
tual  value  of  the  land  when  sold  and  the  amount  paid 
at  the  sheriff's  sale.  There  were  in  this  tract,  too, 
twelve  acres  of  General  Harrison's  private  property 
improperly  included  in  the  sale,  which  he  might  have 
retained  both  legally  and  equitably.  But  such  was 
his  nice  sense  of  honor  and  scrupulous  regard  for  the 
rights  of  others,  that  he  suffered  even  his  own  rights 
to  be  invaded  rather  than  to  vindicate  them  at  the  ex 
pense  of  others.  Such  instances  of  magnanimity  and 
chivalrous  sense  of  honesty  are  bright  spots  in  the 
history  of  humanity,  the  more  conspicuous,  perhaps, 
from  being  so  seldom  seen,  but  equally  the  objects  of 
our  admiration,  however  often  and  whenever  seen. 


[A] 


APPENDIX. 


STATISTICS   OF   THE   SIX   CENSUS. 

THE  following  facts,  compiled  from  the  returns  in  the 
census  office,  will  show  the  extent,  population,  resources, 
manufactors,  and,  above  all,  the  growth  of  our  country 
since  General  Harrison  entered  upon  public  life.  They 
will  also  be  of  great  and  permanent  interest  as  a  matter  of 
reference. 

The  seventh  enumeration  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
the  United  States  exhibits  results  which  every  citizen  of 
country  may  contemplate  with  gratification  and  pride. 
Since  the  census  of  1840  there  have  been  added  to  the 
territory  of  the  Republic,  by  annexation,  conquest,  and 
purchase,  635,988  square  miles;  and  our  title  to  regions 
covering  341,463  square  miles,  which  before  properly  be 
longed  to  us,  but  was  claimed,  and  partially  occupied,  by  a 
foreign  power,  has  been  established  by  negotiation,  and  it 
has  been  brought  within  our  acknowledged  boundaries. 
By  such  means  the  area  of  the  United  States  has  been 
extended,  during  the  past  ten  years,  from  2,055,H>3  to 
3,221,595  square  miles,  without  including  the  great  lakes 
which  lie  upon  our  northern  border,  or  the  bays  which 
indentate  our  Atlantic  and  Pacific  shores,  all  which  has 
come  within  the  scope  of  the  seventh  census. 


384  APPENDIX.  [A] 

In  the  endeavor  to  ascertain  the  progress  of  our  popula 
tion  since  1840,  it  will  be  proper  to  deduct  from  the  aggre 
gate  number  of  inhabitants  shown  by  the  present  census 
the  population  of  Texas  in  1840,  and  the  number  embraced 
within  the  limits  of  California  and  the  new  territories  at 
the  time  of  their  acquisition.  From  the  best  information 
which  has  come  to  hand  it  is  believed  that  Texas  contained, 
in  1840,  75,000  inhabitants;  and  that  when  California, 
New  Mexico,  and  Oregon  came  into  our  possession,  in 
1846,  they  had  a  population  of  97,000.  It  thus  appear? 
that  we  have  received,  by  additions  of  Territory  since  1840, 
an  accession  of  172,000  to  the  number  of  our  people. 

The  increase  which  has  taken  place  in  those  extended 
regions  since  they  came  under  the  authority  of  our  govern 
ment  should  obviously  be  received  as  a  part  of  the  develop 
ment  and  progress  of  our  population ;  nor  is  it  necessary  to 
complicate  the  comparison  by  taking  into  account  the  pro 
bable  natural  increase  of  this  acquired  population,  because 
we  have  not  the  means  of  determining  the  rate  of  its  ad 
vancement,  nor  the  law  which  governed  its  progress  while 
yet  beyond  the  influence  of  our  political  system.  The  year 
1840,  rather  than  the  date  of  our  enumeration  of  Texas, 
has  been  taken  for  estimating  her  population  in  connection 
with  that  of  the  Union,  because  it  may  be  safely  assumed 
that,  whatever  the  increase  during  the  five  intervening  years 
may  have  been,  it  was  mainly,  if  not  altogether,  derived 
fromHhe  United  States. 

Owing  to  delays  and  difficulties  mentioned  in  completing 
the  work,  which  no  action  on  the  part  of  this  office  could 
obviate,  some  of  the  returns  from  California  have  not  yet 
been  received. 


[A]  APPENDIX.  385 

Assuming  the  population  of  California  to  be  165,000 
(which  we  do  partly  by  estimate),  and  omitting  that  of 
Utah,  estimated  at  15,000,  the  total  number  of  inhabitants 
in  the  United  States  was,  on  the  1st  of  June,  1850,  23,- 
246,301. 

The  absolute  increase  from  the  1st  of  June,  1840,  has 
been  6,176,848;  and  the  actual  increase  per  cent,  is  36.18. 
But  it  has  been  shown  that  the  probable  amount  of  popu 
lation  acquired  by  additions  of  territory  should  be  deducted 
in  making  a  comparison  between  the  results  of  the  present 
and  the  last  census.  These  deductions  reduce  the  total 
population  of  the  country,  as  a  basis  of  comparison,  to 
23,074,301,  and  the  increase  to  6,004,848.  The  relative 
increase,  after  this  allowance,  is  found  to  be  35.17  per 
cent.  The  aggregate  number  of  whites  in  1850  was  19,- 
619,366,  exhibiting  a  gain  upon  the  number  of  the  same 
class  in  1840  of  5,423,371,  and  a  relative  increase  of  38.20 
per  cent.  But  excluding  the  153,000  free  population  sup 
posed  to  be  acquired  by  the  addition  of  territory  since 
1840,  the  gain  is  5,270,371,  and  the  increased  per  cent. 
37.14.  The  number  of  slaves,  by  the  present  census,  is 
3,198,298,  which  shows  an  increase  of  711,085,  equal  to 
28.58  per  cent.  If  we  deduct  19,000  for  the  probable 
slave  population  in  Texas  in  1840,  the  result  of  the  com 
parison  will  be  slightly  different.  The  absolute  increase 
will  be  692,085,  and  the  rate  per  cent.  27.83. 

The  number  of  free  colored  in  1850  was  428,637,  in 
1840,  386,245.  The  increase  of  this  class  has  been  42,- 
392,  or  10.95  per  cent. 

From  1830  to  1840  the  increase  of  the  whole  population 
was  at  the  rate  of  32.67  per  cent.  At  the  same  rate  of 


886  APPENDIX.  [A] 

advancement  the  absolute  gcain  for  the  ten  years  last  past 
would  have  been  5,578,333,  or  426,515  less  than  it  has 
been,  without  including  the  increase  consequent  upon  addi 
tions  of  territory. 

The  aggregate  increase  of  population  from  all  sources 
shows  a  relative  advance  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
decimal  term,  except  that  from  the  second  to  the  third 
census,  during  which  time  the  country  received  an  accession 
of  inhabitants,  by  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  considerably 
greater  than  one  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number.  Rejecting 
from  the  census  of  1810  1.45  per  cent,  for  the  population 
of  Louisiana,  and  from  the  census  of  1850  one  per  cent, 
for  that  of  Texas,  California,  &c.,  the  result  is  in  favor  of 
"the  last  ten  years  by  about  one-fourteenth  of  one  per  cent,  j 
the  gain  from  1800  to  1810  being  35.05  per  cent,,  and 
from  1840  to  1850  35.12  per  cent.  But  without  going 
behind  the  sum  of  the  returns,  it  appears  that  the  increase 
from  the  second  to  the  third  census  was  thirty-two-hun- 
dredths  of  one  per  cent,  greater  than  from  the  sixth  to  the 
seventh. 

The  relative  progress  of  the  several  races  and  classes  of 
the  population  is  shown  in  the  following  tabular  statement : 

Increase  per  cent,  for  each  class  of  Inhabitants  in  the  United  State* 
for  sixty  years. 

1790      1800      1810     1820      1830     1840 

to          to          to  to          to          to 

1800.     1810.     1820.     1830.     1840.     1850. 

Whites 35.68  36.18  34.30  34.52  34.72  38.20 

Free  colored 82.28  72.00  27.75  34.85  20.88  10.95 

Slaves 27.96  33.40  29.57  30.75  23.81  28.58 

Total  colored 32.23  37.58  29.33  81.31  23.40  26.16 

Total  population 35.02  36.50  33.35  33.92  32.67  3f..l8 


APPENDIX. 


387 


The  census  had  been  taken  previously  to  1830  on  the 
1st  day  of  August;  the  enumeration  began  on  that  year  on 
the  1st  of  June,  two  months  earlier,  so  that  the  interval 
between  the  fourth  and  fifth  census  was  two  months  less 
than  ten  years;  which  time  allowed  for  would  bring  the 
total  increase  up  to  the  rate  of  34.36  per  cent. 

The  tables  given  below  show  the  increase  from  1790  to 
1850,  without  reference  to  intervening  periods. 


No.  of  whites 

Free  colored 

Slaves 

Tot.  free  col.  &  si. 


1790. 

Absolute  increase 
1850.           in  60  years. 

3,172,464 
69,466 
697,897 
757,363 

19,630,019 
428,637 
3,184,262 
3,612,899 

16,457,555 
369,171 
2,486,365 
2,855,536 

Incr.  per 
ct.  in  60 
years. 
52,797 
61,744 
35,013 
377 


Total  population...     3,929,827     23,246,301     19,316,417     491,152 

Sixty  years  since  the  proportion  between  the  whites  and 
blacks,  bond  and  free,  was  4.2  to  1.  In  1850  it  was  5.26 
to  1 ;  and  the  ratio  in  favor  of  the  former  race  is  in 
creasing.  Had  the  blacks  increased  as  fast  as  the  whites 
during  these  sixty  years  the  number  on  the  first  of  June 
would  have  been  4,657,239;  so  that,  in  comparison  with 
the  whites,  they  have  lost  in  this  period  1,350,340. 

This  disparity  is  much  more  than  accounted  for  by 
European  emigration  to  the  United  States. 

Dr.  Chickering,  in  an  essay  on  emigration,  published  in 
Boston  in  1848,  distinguished  for  great  elaborateness  of 
research,  estimates  the  gain  of  the  white  population  from 
this  source  at  3,922,152.  No  reliable  record  was  kept  of 
the  emigrants  into  the  United  States  until  1820,  when,  by 
the  laws  of  March,  1819,  the  collectors  were  required  to 
make  quarterly  returns  of  foreign  passengers  arriving  in 
their  districts.  For  the  first  ten  years  the  returns  under 


388  APPENDIX.  [A] 

the  laws  afford  materials  for  only  an  approximation  to  a 
true  state  of  the  facts  involved  in  this  inquiry. 

Dr.  Chickering  assumes,  as  a  result  of  his  investigations, 
that  of  the  6,481,088  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  in 
1820,  1,430,906  were  foreigners  arrived  subsequent  to 
1790,  or  the  descendants  of  such.  According  to  Dr.  Sey- 
bert,  an  earlier  writer  upon  statistics,  the  number  of  foreign 
passengers  from  1790  to  1810  was,  as  nearly  as  could  be 
ascertained,  120,000;  and  from  the  estimates  of  Dr.  Sey- 
bert,  and  other  evidence,  Honorable  Geo.  Tucker,  author 
of  a  valuable  work  on  the  census  of  1840,  supposed  the  num 
ber  from  1810  to  1820  to  have  been  114,000.  These  esti 
mates  make,  for  the  thirty  years  preceding  1820,  234,000. 

If  we  reckon  the  census  of  emigrants  at  the  average 
rate  of  the  whole  body  of  white  population  during  these 
three  decades,  they  and  their  descendants  in  1820  would 
amount  to  about  360,000. 

From  1820  to  1830  there  arrived,  according  to  the 
returns  of  the  custom-houses,  135,986  foreign  passengers ; 
and  from  1830  to  1840,  579,370 ;  making,  for  the  twenty 
years,  715,356. 

During  this  period  a  large  number  of  emigrants  from 
England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  came  into  the  United 
States  through  Canada. 

Dr.  Chickering  estimates  the  number  of  such  from  1820 
to  1830  at  67,993,  and  from  1830  to  1840  at  199,130; 
for  the  twenty  years  together,  267,123.  During  the  same 
time  a  considerable  number  are  supposed  to  have  landed  at 
New  York  with  the  purpose  of  pursuing  their  route  to 
('.ir-,::cLi;  but  it  is  probable  that  the  number  of  these  was 
by-'  a  need  by  omissions  in  the  official  returns. 


[A]  APPENDIX.  389 

Without  reference  to  the  natural  increase,  then  the 
accession  to  our  population  from  foreign  sources,  from  1820 
to  1840,  was  982,479  persons. 

From  1840  to  1850  the  arrivals  of  foreign  passengers 
in  the  ports  of  the  United  States  have  been  as  follows : 

1840,  1841 83,504 

1842 101,107 

1843 75,159 

1844 74,607 

1845 102,415 

1846 202,157* 

1847 234,756 

1848 226,524 

1849 269,610 

1850 173,011f 

Total 1,552,830 

As  the  heaviest  portion  of  this  great  influx  of  emigra 
tion  took  place  in  the  latter  part  of  the  decade,  it  will 

*  This  return  includes  fifteen  months,  to  wit,  from  July  1, 1845, 
to  September  30,  1846. 

f  The  report  from  the  State  Department  for  this  year  gives 
315,333  as  the  total  number  of  passengers  arriving  in  the  United 
States ;  but  of  these  30,023  were  citizens  of  the  Atlantic  States 
proceeding  to  California  by  sea,  and  5,320  natives  of  the  country 
returning  from  visits  abroad.  A  deduction  of  106,879  is  made 
from  the  balance  for  that  portion  of  the  year  from  June  1  to  Sep 
tember  30.  Within  the  last  ten  years  there  has  probably  been 
very  little  migration  of  foreigners  into  the  United  States  (Tver  the 
Canadian  frontier, — the  disposition  to  take  the  route  by  Quebec 
having  yielded  to  the  increased  facilities  for  direct  passenger  trans 
portation  to  the  cities  of  the  Union;  what  there  has  been  may 
perhaps  be  considered  as  equaled  by  the  number  of  foreigners 
passing  into  Canada,  often  landing  at  New  York,  many  having 
been  drawn  thither  by  the  opportunity  of  employment  afforded  by 
the  public  works  of  the  province. 


890  APPENDIX.  [A] 

probably  be  fair  to  estimate  the  natural  increase  during  the 
terra  at  12  per  cent.,  being  about  one-third  of  that  of  the 
white  population  of  the  country  at  its  commencement. 

This  will  swell  the  aggregate  to  1,739,192.  Deducting 
this  accession  to  the  population  from  the  whole  amount  of 
the  increase  of  white  inhabitants  before  given,  that  increase 
is  shown  to  be  3,684,519,  and  the  rate  per  cent,  is  reduced 
to  25.95. 

The  density  of  population  is  a  branch  of  the  subject 
which  naturally  first  attracts  the  attention  of  the  inquirer. 
The  following  table  has  been  prepared  from  the  most  authen 
tic  data  accessible  to  this  office. 


Table  of  the  Area,  and  the  number  of  Inhabitants  to  the  square  mile, 

of  each  State  and  Territory  of  the  Union. 

Area  in 

Population 

No.  of  inhab. 

States. 

square  mile. 

in  1850. 

to  sq.  mile. 

Maine  

30,000 

583,188 

19.44 

New  Hampshire  

9,280 

317,964 

34.26 

Vermont  

10,212 

313,611 

30.07 

Massachusetts  

7,800 

994,499 

126.15 

Rhode  Island  

1,360 

147,544 

108.04 

Connecticut  

4,674 

370,791 

79.33 

New  York  

46,000 

3,097,394 

67.66 

New  Jersey  

8,320 

489,555 

60.04 

Pennsylvania  

46,000 

2,311,785 

60.25 

Delaware  

2,120 

91,535 

43.64 

Maryland  

9,356 

583,035 

62.31 

Virginia  

61,552 

1,421,661 

23.17 

North  Carolina  

45,000 

868,903 

19.30 

South  Carolina  

24,500 

668,507 

27.28 

Georgia  

58,000 

905,999 

15.68 

Alabama  

50,722 

771,671 

15.21 

Mississippi  

47,156 

606,555 

12.86 

Louisiana  

46,431 

611,974 

11.02 

Texas  

237,321 

212,592 

.89 

Florida  

59,268 

37,401 

1.47 

Kentucky  

37,680 

982,405 

26.07 

Tennessee  

45,600 

1,002,625 

21.98 

Missouri  

67,380 

682,043 

10.12 

APPENDIX. 


391 


(Continued  from  last  page.} 


Area  in 
States.  square  mite. 

Arkansas 52,198 

Ohio 39,964 

Indiana  33,809 

Illinois  55,405 

Michigan 56,243 

Iowa 50,914 

Wisconsin 53,924 

California  188,981 

Minnesota 83,000 

Oregon 341,463 

New  Mexico 210,744 

Utah 177,923 

Nebraska 136,700 

Indian 187,171 

North-West  687,564 

District  Columbia 60 


Population 

No.  of  inhab. 

in  1850. 

to  sq.  mile. 

209,639- 

4.01 

1,980,408 

49.55 

98K  -  i  6 

29.23 

851.470 

15.36 

397,654 

7.07 

192,214 

3.77 

305,191 

6.65 

6,077 

.07 

13,293 

.03 

61,505 

.28 

51,687      861,45 


Total 3,221,595      23,080,792 


From  the  location,  climate,  productions,  and  the  habits 
and  pursuits  of  their  inhabitants,  the  States  of  the  Union 
may  be  properly  arranged  into  the  following  groups : 

No.  of  inhab' 
Population.       to  sq.  mile. 

2,727,597        43.07 
8,653,713        67.02 


Area  in 
Statca.  square  mile. 

New  England  States 63,226 

Middle  States,  including  Ma 
ryland,  Delaware,  and  Ohio  151,760 

Coast  planting  States,  includ 
ing  South  Carolina, Georgia, 
Florida,  Alabama,  Missis 
sippi,  and  Louisiana 296,077 

Central  Slave  States,  Vir 
ginia,  N.  Carolina,  Ten 
nessee,  Kentucky,  Missouri, 
and  Arkansas 308,210 

North- Western  States,  India 
na,  Michigan,  Illinois,  Wis 
consin,  and  Iowa 250,000 

Texas 237,000 

California 189,000 


3,537,089    12.36 


5,168,000   16.75 


2,735,000  10.92 
212,000  89 
165,000  87 


392  APPENDIX.  [A] 

There  are  points  of  agreement  in  the  general  character 
istics  of  the  States  combined  in  the  above  groups  which 
warrant  the  mode  of  arrangement  adopted.  Maryland  is 
classed  as  heretofore  with  the  Middle  States,  because  its 
leading  interests  appear  to  connect  it  rather  with  the  com 
mercial  and  manufacturing  section  to  which  it  is  here 
assigned,  than  with  the  purely  agricultural  States.  Ohio 
is  placed  in  the  same  connection  for  nearly  similar  reasons. 
There  seems  to  be  a  marked  propriety  for  setting  off  the 
new  agricultural  States  of  the  North-West  by  themselves, 
as  a  preliminary  to  the  comparison  of  their  progress  with 
other  portions  of  the  Union.  The  occupations  which  give 
employment  to  the  people  of  the  central  range  of  States 
south  of  the  line  of  the  Potomac,  distinguish  them  to  some 
extent  from  that  division  to  which  we  have  given  the  ap 
pellation  of  coast  planting  States.  In  the  latter  cotton, 
sugar,  and  rice  are  the  great  staples,  the  cultivation  of 
which  is  so  absorbing  as  to  stamp  its  impress  on  the  char 
acter  of  the  people.  The  industry  of  the  central  States  is 
more  diversified,  the  surface  of  the  country  is  more  broken, 
the  modes  of  cultivation  are  different,  and  the  minuter 
divisions  of  labor  create  more  numerous  and  less  accordant 
interests.  So  far  as  Texas  is  settled,  its  population  closely 
assimilates  with  that  of  the  other  coast  planting  States,  but 
it  would  obviously  convey  no  well-founded  idea  of  the 
density  of  population  in  that  section  to  distribute  their 
people  over  the  most  uninhabited  region  of  Texas.  For 
the  same  reason,  and  the  additional  one  of  the  isolation  of 
her  position,  California  is  considered  distinct  from  other 
States. 

Taking  the  thirty-one    States  together,  their  area   is 


[A]  APPENDIX.  393 

1,485,870  square  miles,  and  the  average  number  of  their 
inhabitants  is  15.48  to  the  square  mile.  The  total  area  of 
the  United  States  is  3,220,000  square  miles,  and  the 
average  density  of  population  is  7.219  to  the  square  mile. 

The  areas  assigned  to  those  States  and  Territories  in 
which  public  lands  are  situated  are  doubtless  correct,  being 
taken  from  the  records  of  the  Land  Office ;  but  as  to  those 
attributed  to  the  older  States,  the  same  means  of  verifying 
their  accuracy,  or  the  want  of  it,  do  not  exist.  But  care 
has  been  taken  to  consult  the  best  local  authorities  for 
ascertaining  the  extent  of  surface  in  these  States ;  and  as 
the  figures  adopted  are  found  to  agree  with,  or  differ  but 
slightly  from,  those  assumed  to  be  correct  at  the  General 
Land  Office,  it  is  probable  they  do  not  vary  essentially 
from  the  exact  truth. 

The  area  of  some  of  the  States,  as  Maryland  and  Vir 
ginia,  are  stated  considerably  below  the  commonly  assumed 
extent  of  the  territory,  which  may  be  accounted  for  on  the 
supposition  that  the  portions  of  the  surface  within  their 
exterior  limits,  covered  by  large  bodies  of  water,  have  been 
subtracted  from  the  aggregate  amount.  This  is  known  to 
be  the  case  in  regard  to  Maryland,  the  superficial  extent  of 
which,  within  the  outlines  of  its  boundaries,  is  13,959 
square  miles,  and  is  deemed  probable  with  reference  to 
Virginia,  from  the  fact  that  many  geographers  have  given 
its  total  area  as  high  as  66,000  square  miles. 

It  appears  from  the  returns  that  during  the  year  ending 
on  the  1st  of  June,  1850,  there  escaped  from  their  owners 
1,011  slaves,  and  that  during  the  same  period  1,467  were 
manumitted.  The  number  of  both  classes  will  appear  in 
the  following  table : 


894  APPENDIX.  [A] 

Manumitted  and  Fugitive  Slaves  in  1850. 

Manu.  Fug. 

Delaware 277  26 

Maryland 493  297 

Virginia 218  83 

Kentucky 162  96 

Tennessee 45  70 

North  Carolina 2  64 

South  Carolina 2  16 

Georgia 19  89 

Florida 2$  18 

Alabama 16  29 

Mississippi 6  41 

Louisiana 159  90 

Texas 5  29 

Arkansas 1  21 

Missouri ...  50  60 

Total 1,467'     1,011 

In  connection  with  this  statement,  and  as  affecting  the 
natural  increase  of  the  free  colored  population  of  the 
United  States,  it  may  be  proper  to  remark  that,  during  the 
year  to  which  the  census  applies,  the  Colonization  Society 
sent  562  colored  emigrants  to  Liberia. 

In  our  calculations  respecting  the  increase  of  the  free 
colored  population,  we  have  not  considered  that  class  of 
persons,  independent  of  these  two  causes,  which  respectively 
swell  and  diminish  their  number. 

The  statistics  of  mortality  for  the  census  year  represent 
the  number  of  deaths  occurring  within  the  year  at  320.194, 
the  ratio  being  as  1  to  72.6  of  the  living  population,  or  as 
10  to  each  726  of  the  population.  The  rate  of  mortality  in 
this  statement  seems  so  much  less  than  that  of  any  portion 
of  Europe,  that  it  must  at  present  be  received  with  some 
tlegree  of  allowance. 

Should  a  more  critical  examination,  which  time  will 


[A]  APPENDIX.  395 

enable  us  to  exercise,  prove  the  returns  of  the  number  of 
deaths  too  small,  such  a  result  will  not  affect  their  value  for 
the  purposes  of  comparison  of  one  portion  of  the  country 
with  another,  or  cause  with  effect.  The  tables  will  possess 
an  interest  second  to  none  others  in  the  world  j  and  the 
many  valuable  truths  which  they  will  suggest  will  be  found 
of  great  practical  advantage. 

Medical  men  accord  to  the  Census  Bureau  no  small 
meed  of  credit,  for  the  wisdom  manifested  in  an  arrange 
ment  which  will  throw  more  light  on  the  history  of  disease 
in  the  United  States,  and  present  in  connection  more  inter 
esting  facts  connected  therewith,  than  the  united  efforts  of 
all  scientific  men  have  heretofore  acccomplished. 


AGRICULTURE. 

The  great  amount  of  labor  requisite  to  the  extraction 
of  the  returns  of  agriculture  will  admit  at  this  time  of  pre 
senting  but  limited  accounts,  though  perhaps,  to  some  ex 
tent,  of  the  most  separate  interests. 

The  returns  of  the  wheat  crop  for  many  of  the  Western 
States  will  not  at  all  indicate  the  average  crop  of  those 
States. 

This  is  especially  the  case  with  Ohio,  Indiana,  and 
Illinois,  from  which,  especially  the  former,  the  Assistant 
Marshals  returned  a  "short  crop"  to  the  extent  of  fifty  per 
cent,  throughout  the  whole  State. 

The  shortness  of  the  wheat  crop  in  Ohio  in  1849  is  veri 
fied  by  returns  made  during  the  subsequent  season  by 
authority  of  the  legislature. 


APPENDIX.  [Aj 

MANUFACTURES. 

The  period  which  has  elapsed  since  the  receipt  of  the 
returns  has  been  so  short  as  to  enable  the  office  to  make 
but  a  general  report  of  the  facts  relating  to  a  few  of  the 
most  important  manufactures. 

If,  in  some  instances,  the  amount  of  capital  invested  in 
any  branch  of  manufacture  should  seem  too  small,  it  must 
be  borne  in  mind  that,  where  the  product  is  of  several 
kinds,  the  capital  invested,  not  being  divisible,  is  connected 
with  the  product  of  greatest  consequence.  This,  to  some 
extent,  reduces  the  capital  invested  in  the  manufacture  of 
bar  iron  in  such  establishments  where  some  other  article 
of  wrought  iron  predominates, — sheet  iron,  for  example. 

The  aggregate,  however,  of  the  capital  invested  in  the 
various  branches  of  wrought  iron  will,  it  is  confidently  be 
lieved,  be  found  correct. 

The  entire  capital  invested  in  the  various  manufactures  in  the 
United  States,  on  the  1st  of  June,  1850,  not  to  include  any  estab 
lishment  producing  less  than  the  annual  value  of  $500,  amounted 

to,  in  round  numbers $530,000,000 

Value  of  raw  material 550,000,000 

Amount  paid  for  labor 240,000,000 

Value  of  manufactured  articles 1,020,300,000 

Number  of  persons  employed 1,050,000 

The  capital  invested  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton...  $74,501,031 

Value  of  raw  material 34,835,056 

Amount  paid  for  labor 16,286,304 

Value  of  manufactured  articles 61,869,184 

Number  of  bands  employed 39,252 

The  capital  invested  in  the  manufacture  of  woolen 

goods  amounted  to $28,118,650 

Value  of  raw  material 25,755,98 

Amount  paid  for  labor 8,399,28 

Value  of  product 43,207,55 

Number  of  hands  employed 92,286 


[A]  APPENDIX.  397 

The  capital  invested  in  the  manufacture  of  pig  iron 

amounted  to $17,346,425 

Value  of  raw  material 7,005,289 

Amount  paid  for  labor 5,006,628 

.  Value  of  product 12,748,777 

Number  of  hands  employed 20,448 

In  making  these  estimates  the  Assistant  Marshals  did 
not  include  any  return  of  works  which  had  not  produced 
metal  within  the  year,  or  those  which  had  not  commenced 
operations.  The  same  is  applicable  to  all  manufactures 
enumerated. 

The  capital  invested  in  the  manufacture  of  castings 

amounted  to $17,416,361 

Value  of  raw  material 10,346,355 

Amount  paid  for  labor 7,078,920 

Value  of  product 25,108,155 

Number  of  hands  employed 23,589 

The  capital  invested  in  the  manufacture  of  wrought 

iron  amounted  to $13,995,220 

Value  of  raw  material 9,518,109 

Amount  paid  for  labor 4,196.628 

Value  of  product 16,387,074 

Number  of  hands  employed 13,057 

The  statistics  of  the  newspaper  press  form  an  interest 
ing  feature  in  the  returns  of  the  seventh  census.  It 
appears  that  the  whole  number  of  newspapers  and  periodi 
cals  in  the  United  States,  on  the  1st  of  June,  1850, 
amounted  to  2,800.  Of  these  2,494  were  fully  returned, 
234  had  all  the  facts  excepting  circulation  given,  and  72 
are  estimated  for  California,  the  territories,  and  for  those 
that  may  have  been  omitted  by  the  Assistant  Marshals. 

From  calculations  made  on  the  statistics  returned,  and 
estimated  circulations  where  they  have  been  omitted,  it 
appears  that  the  aggregate  circulation  of  those  2;800  papers 
34 


398  APPENDIX.  [A] 

and  periodicals  is  about  5,000,000,  and  that  the  entire 
number  of  copies  printed  annually  in  the  United  States 
amounts  to  422,600,000.  The  following  table  will  show 
the  number  of  daily,  weekly,  monthly,  and  other  issues, 
with  the  aggregate  circulation  of  each  class. 


No.  of  copies 

No.  Circulation.  printed  annually. 

Dailies 350  750,000  235.000,000 

Tri-weeklies 150  75,000  11,700,000 

Semi-weeklies 125  80,000  8,3-20,000 

Weeklies 2,000  2,875,000  149,500,000 

Semi-monthlies 50  300,000  9,300,000 

Monthlies 100  900.000  10,800,000 

Quarterlies 25  20,000  80,000 


Total 2,800         6,000,000  422,600,000 

424  papers  are  issued  in  the  New  England  States,  876 
in  the  Middle  States,  716  in  the  Southern  States,  and  784 
in  the  Western  States. 

The  average  circulation  of  papers  in  the  United  States 
is  1,785. 

There  is  one  publication  for  every  7,161  free  inhabit 
ants  in  the  United  States  and  Territories. 

The  work,  of  course,  has  not  been  submitted  to  the 
public  for  its  judgment ;  but  where  opinions  have  been  at 
all  expressed,  by  those  deemed  good  authority,  on  the  pro 
priety  of  our  classification,  they  have  been  invariably  favor 
able.  Some  such  have  found  their  way  into  public  docu 
ments.  In  the  32d  Annual  Report  of  the  New  York 
Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb,  made  to  the  legislature 
of  that  State,  the  following  language  occurs  with  respect  to 
our  designed  classification  of  such  portion  of  the  work  aa 
interested  particularly  the  Directors  of  the  Institution  : 


[A]  APPENDIX.  S99 

"  Such  a  list  -will  furnish  valuable  materials,  never  possessed 
to  any  extent  before,  for  solving  many  highly  interesting  statisti 
cal  questions,  and  its  publication  is  looked  for  with  much  interest. 
We  shall  endeavor  in  our  next  Annual  Report  to  set  forth  the 
results  of  a  careful  analysis  of  the  census  respecting  the  Deaf  and 
Dumb." 

So  far  as  the  judgment  of  the  public  press  is  concerned, 
its  expression  has  been  much  more  favorable  than  could  be 
wished,  with  its  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  plan,  as  expec 
tations  may  thereby  be  raised  which  the  results  will  not 
justify.  None  of  the  information,  as  imparted  in  the 
volume  of  statistics,  has  been  promulgated,  it  being  con 
sidered  indelicate  to  make  known  to  the  world  information 
due  first  to  the  Head  of  the  Department,  and  through  him 
to  Congress ;  and  it  would  not  be  decorous  to  forestal  the 
dispassionate  judgment  of  either. 

It  has  seemed  to  me  that  a  work,  the  expense  of  which 
is  shared  by  the  whole  community,  should  be  arranged,  as 
far  as  possible,  for  general  utility,  and  not  a  compilation 
of  mere  columns  of  figures,  interesting  only  to  the  man 
of  science,  for  legislative  purposes,  or  for  reference,  but 
should  be  so  adapted  that,  while  it  will  furnish  practical 
information  to  the  statesman  and  philosopher,  and  useful 
data  for  the  legislator,  it  will  contain  also  matters  interest 
ing  to  every  portion  of  the  community,  furnished  somewhat 
in  advance  of  those  deductions  from  analytical  investiga 
tions  made  years  after  its  publication.  To  this  end,  if  sup 
ported  by  the  favorable  opinion  of  Congress,  it  will  be  made 
to  evolve  all  the  instruction  which  zealous  efforts,  though 
limited  ability,  are  capable  of  eliciting  from  the  facts,  within 
such  period  of  time  as  it  must  be  accomplished  without 
retarding  its  publication.  J.  R.  ROCHE. 

Census  Office,  Dec.  3,  5*  o'clock,  A.  M. 


400 


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[B]  APPENDIX.  403 

DECLARATION    OF  WAR. 

The  Message  of  President  Madison  to  Congress,  imme 
diately  preceding  the  Declaration  of  War  against  England, 
in  1812, — the  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Rela 
tions,  to  whom  it  was  referred, — the  Declaration  of  War 
itself,  —  and  the  President's  Proclamation  of  that  grave 
event, — are  all  documents  that  will  ever  possess  deep  in 
terest  to  Americans.  The  two  first  give,  in  the  most  concise 
form,  the  causes  that  led  to  that  war,  and  they  therefore 
deserve  to  be  often  read  and  free  to  general  access.  For 
these  reasons  they  have  been  incorporated  in  this  volume. 
The  President's  message  was  communicated  to  Congress  on 
the  1st  day  of  June,  1812. 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States. 

I  communicate  to  Congress  certain  documents,  being  a 
continuation  of  those  heretofore  laid  before  them,  on  the 
subject  of  our  affairs  with  Great  Britain. 

Without  going  back  beyond  the  renewal,  in  1803,  of 
the  war  in  which  Great  Britain  is  engaged,  and  omitting 
our  repaired  wrongs  of  inferior  magnitude,  the  conduct  of 
her  government  presents  a  series  of  acts  hostile  to  the 
United  States  as  an  independent  and  neutral  nation. 

British  cruisers  have  been  in  the  continued  practice  of 
violating  the  American  flag  on  the  great  high  way  of  na 
tions,  and  of  seizing  and  carrying  off  persons  sailing  under 
it;  not  in  the  exercise  of  a  belligerent  right,  founded  on 
the  laws  of  nations  against  an  enemy,  but  of  a  municipal 
prerogative  over  British  subjects.  British  jurisdiction  is 
thus  extended  to  neutral  vessels  in  a  situation  where  no 


404  APPENDIX.  [B] 

laws  can  operate  but  the  law  of  nations  and  the  laws  of  the 
country  to  which  the  vessels  belong;  and  a  self-redress  is 
assumed  which,  if  British  subjects  were  wrongfully  de 
tained  and  alone  concerned,  is  that  substitution  of  force,  for 
a  resort  to  the  responsible  sovereign,  which  falls  within  the 
definition  of  war.  Could  the  seizure  of  British  subjects  in 
such  cases  be  regarded  as  within  the  exercise  of  a  belligerent 
right,  the  acknowledged  laws  of  war,  which  forbid  an  article 
of  captured  property  to  be  adjudged  without  a  regular  in 
vestigation  before  a  competent  tribunal,  would  imperiously 
demand  the  fairest  trial  when  the  sacred  rights  of  person 
were  at  issue.  In  place  of  such  a  trial,  these  rights  are 
subject  to  the  will  of  every  petty  commander. 

The  practice,  hence,  is  so  far  from  affecting  British  sub 
jects  alone,  that  under  the  pretext  of  searching  for  these, 
thousands  of  American  citizens,  under  the  safeguard  of  the 
public  and  of  their  national  flag,  have  been  torn  from  their 
country  and  from  everything  dear  to  them ;  have  been 
dragged  on  board  ships  of  war  of  foreign  nations,  and  ex 
posed,  under  the  severities  of  their  discipline,  to  be  exiled 
to  the  most  distant  and  deadly  climes,  to  risk  their  lives  in 
the  battles  of  their  oppressors,  and  to  be  the  melancholy 
instruments  of  taking  away  those  of  their  own  brethren. 

Against  this  crying  enormity,  which  Great  Britain  would 
be  so  prompt  to  avenge  if  committed  on  herself,  the  United 
States  have  in  vain  exhausted  remonstrance  and  expostula 
tion.  And  that  no  proof  might  be  wanting  of  their  con 
ciliatory  dispositions,  and  no  pretext  left  for  a  continuance 
of  the  practice,  the  British  government  was  formally  assured 
of  the  readiness  of  the  United  States  to  enter  into  arrange 
ments,  such  as  could  not  be  rejected,  if  the  recovery  of 


[B]  APPENDIX.  405 

British  subjects  were  the  real  and  sole  object.  The  com 
munication  passed  without  effect. 

British  cruisers  have  been  in  the  practice  also  of  violat* 
ing  the  rights  and  the  peace  of  our  coasts.  They  hover 
over  and  harass  our  entering  and  deporting  commerce.  To 
the  most  insulting  pretensions  they  have  added  the  most 
lawless  proceedings  in  our  very  harbors,  and  have  wantonly 
spilt  American  blood  within  the  sanctuary  of  our  territorial 
jurisdiction.  The  principles  and  rules  enforced  by  that 
nation,  when  a  neutral  nation,  against  armed  vessels  of  bel 
ligerents  hovering  near  her  coasts  and  disturbing  her  com 
merce,  are  well  known.  When  called  on,  nevertheless,  by 
the  United  States  to  punish  the  greater  offences  committed 
by  her  own  vessels,  her  government  has  bestowed  on  their 
commanders  additional  marks  of  honor  and  confidence. 

Under  pretended  blockades,  without  the  presence  of  an 
adequate  force,  and  sometimes  without  the  practicability  of 
applying  one,  our  commerce  has  been  plundered  in  every 
sea;  the  great  staples  of  our  country  have  been  cut  off 
from  their  legitimate  markets,  and  a  destructive  blow  aimed 
at  our  agricultural  and  maritime  interests.  In  aggravation 
of  these  predatory  measures,  they  have  been  considered  as 
in  force  from  the  dates  of  their  notification,  a  retrospective 
effect  being  thus  added,  as  has  been  done  in  other  important 
cases,  to  the  unlawfulness  of  the  course  pursued;  and  to 
render  the  outrage  the  more  signal,  these  mock  blockades 
have  been  reiterated  and  enforced  in  the  face  of  official 
communications  from  the  British  government,  declaring,  as 
the  true  definition  of  a  legal  blockade,  "  the  particular  ports 
must  be  actually  invested,  and  previous  warning  given  to 
vessels  bound  to  them  not  to  enter." 


406  APPEND]  x.  |~B] 

Not  content  with  these  occasional  expedients  for  laying 
waste  our  neutral  trade,  the  cabinet  of  Great  Britain  re 
sorted,  at  length,  to  the  sweeping  system  of  blockades,  un 
der  the  name  of  Orders  in  Council,  which  has  been  moulded 
and  managed  as  might  best  suit  its  political  views,  its  com 
mercial  jealousies,  or  the  avidity  of  British  cruisers. 

To  our  remonstrances  against  the  complicated  and  trans 
cendent  injustice  of  this  innovation,  the  first  reply  was  that 
the  orders  were  reluctantly  adopted  by  Great  Britain  as  a 
necessary  retaliation  on  decrees  of  her  enemy,  proclaiming 
a  general  blockade  of  the  British  Isles,  at  a  time  when 
the  naval  force  of  that  enemy  dared  not  to  issue  from  his 
own  ports.  She  was  reminded,  without  effect,  that  her  own 
prior  blockade,  unsupported  by  an  adequate  naval  force  ac 
tually  applied  and  continued,  was  a  bar  to  this  plea ;  that 
executed  edicts  against  millions  of  our  property  would  not 
be  retaliation  on  edicts  confessedly  impossible  to  be  exe 
cuted;  that  retaliation,  to  be  just,  should  fall  on  the  party 
setting  the  guilty  example,  not  on  an  innocent  party,  which 
was  not  even  chargeable  with  an  acquiescence  in  it. 

When  deprived  of  this  flimsy  veil  for  a  prohibition  of 
our  trade  with  her  enemy,  by  the  repeal  of  his  prohibition 
of  our  trade  with  Great  Britain,  her  cabinet,  instead  of  a 
corresponding  repeal  or  a  practical  discontinuance  of  its 
orders,  formally  avowed  a  determination  to  persist  in  them 
against  the  United  States,  until  the  markets  of  her  enemy 
should  be  laid  open  to  British  product ;  thus  asserting  an 
obligation  on  a  neutral  power  to  require  one  belligerent 
power  to  encourage,  by  its  internal  regulations,  the  trade 
of  another  belligerent,  contradicting  her  own  practice  to 
wards  all  nations,  in  peace  as  well  as  war,  and  betraying  the 


[B]  APPENDIX.  4U7 

insincerity  of  these  professions  which  inculcated  a  belief 
that,  having  resorted  to  her  orders  with  regret,  she  was 
anxious  to  find  an  occasion  for  putting  an  end  to  them. 

Abandoning  still  more  all  respect  for  the  neutral  rights 
of  the  United  States,  and  for  its  own  consistency,  the  British 
government  now  demands,  as  pre-requisites  to  a  repeal  of  its 
orders  as  they  relate  to  the  United  States,  that  a  formality 
should  be  observed  in  the  repeal  of  the  French  decrees,  no 
wise  necessary  to  their  termination,  nor  exemplified  by 
British  usage ;  and  that  the  French  repeal,  besides  includ 
ing  that  portion  of  the  decrees  which  operate  within  a  ter 
ritorial  jurisdiction,  as  well  as  that  which  operates  on  the 
high  seas  against  the  commerce  of  the  United  States,  should 
not  be  a  single  special  repeal  in  relation  to  the  United 
States,  but  should  be  extended  to  whatever  other  neutral 
nations  unconnected  with  them  may  be  affected  by  those 
decrees.  And  as  an  additional  insult,  they  are  called  on 
for  a  formal  disavowal  of  conditions  and  pretensions  ad 
vanced  by  the  French  government,  for  which  the  United 
States  are  so  far  from  having  made  themselves  responsible, 
that,  in  official  explanations,  which  have  been  published  to 
the  world,  and  in  a  correspondence  of  the  American  minister 
at  London  with  the  British  minister  for  foreign  affairs,  such 
a  responsibility  was  explicitly  and  emphatically  disclaimed. 
It  has  become,  indeed,  sufficiently  certain  that  the  com 
merce  of  the  United  States  is  to  be  sacrificed,  not  as  interfer 
ing  with  the  belligerent  rights  of  Great  Britain,  not  as  sup 
plying  the  wants  of  her  enemies,  which  she  herself  supplies, 
but  as  interfering  with  the  monopoly  which  she  covets  for 
her  own  commerce  and  navigation.  She  carries  on  a  war 
against  the  lawful  commerce  of  a  friend,  that  she  may  the 


408  APPENDIX.  PB] 

better  carry  on  a  commerce  polluted  by  the  forgeries  and 
perjuries  which  are,  for  the  most  part,  the  only  passports 
by  which  it  can  succeed. 

Anxious  to  make  every  experiment  short  of  the  last  re 
sort  of  injured  nations,  the  United  States  have  withheld 
from  Great  Britain,  under  successive  modifications,  the  ben 
efits  of  a  free  intercourse  with  their  market,  the  loss  of 
which  could  not  but  outweigh  the  profits  accruing  from  her 
restrictions  of  our  commerce  with  other  nations.  And  to 
entitle  these  experiments  to  the  more  favorable  considera 
tion,  they  were  so  framed  as  to  enable  her  to  place  her  ad 
versary  under  the  exclusive  operation  of  them.  To  these 
appeals  her  government  has  been  equally  inflexible,  as  if 
willing  to  make  sacrifices  of  every  sort,  rather  than  yield  to 
the  claims  of  justice  or  renounce  the  errors  of  a  false  pride. 
Nay,  so  far  were  the  attempts  carried,  to  overcome  the  at 
tachment  of  the  British  cabinet  to  its  unjust  edicts,  that  it 
received  every  encouragement  within  the  competency  of  the 
executive  branch  of  our  government  to  expect  that  a  repeal 
of  them  would  be  followed  by  a  war  between  the  United 
States  and  France,  unless  the  French  edicts  should  also  be 
repealed.  Even  this  communication,  although  silencing 
forever  the  plea  of  a  disposition  in  the  United  States  to 
acquiesce  in  those  edicts,  originally  the  sole  plea  for  them, 
received  no  attention. 

If  no  other  proof  existed  of  a  predetermination  of  the 
British  government  against  a  repeal  of  its  orders,  it  might 
be  found  on  the  correspondence  of  the  minister  plenipoten 
tiary  of  the  United  States  at  London,  and  the  British  secre 
tary  for  foreign  affairs  in  1810,  on  the  question  whether  the 
blockade  of  May,  1806,  was  considered  as  in  force  or  as 


[B]  APPENDIX.  409 

not  in  force.  It  had  been  ascertained  that  the  French  gov 
ernment,  which  urged  this  blockade  as  the  ground  of  its 
Berlin  decree,  was  willing,  in  the  event  of  its  removal,  to 
repeal  that  decree  j  which,  being  followed  by  alternate  re 
peals  of  the  other  offensive  edicts,  might  abolish  the  whole 
system  on  both  sides.  This  inviting  opportunity  for  accom 
plishing  an  object  so  important  to  the  United  States,  and 
professed  so  often  to  be  the  desire  of  both  the  belligerents, 
was  made  known  to  the  British  government.  As  that  gov 
ernment  admits  that  an  actual  application  of  an  adequate 
force  is  necessary  to  the  existence  of  a  legal  blockade, — and 
it  was  notorious,  that  if  such  a  force  had  ever  been  applied, 
its  long  discontinuance  had  annulled  the  blockade  in  ques 
tion, — there  could  be  no  sufficient  objection  on  the  part  of 
Great  Britain  to  a  formal  revocation  of  it ;  and  no  imagin 
able  objection  to  a  declaration  of  the  fact,  that  the  blockade 
did  not  exist.  The  declaration  would  have  been  consistent 
with  her  avowed  principles  of  blockade,  and  would  have 
enabled  the  United  States  to  demand  from  France  the 
pledged  repeal  of  her  decrees  j  either  with  success,  in  which 
case  the  way  would  have  been  opened  for  a  general  repeal 
of  the  belligerent  edicts ;  or  without  success,  in  which  case 
the  United  States  would  have  been  justified  in  turning  their 
measures  exclusively  against  France.  The  British  govern 
ment  would,  however,  neither  rescind  the  blockade  nor  de 
clare  its  non-existence ;  nor  permit  its  non-existence  to  be 
inferred  and  affirmed  by  the  American  plenipotentiary.  On 
the  contrary,  by  representing  the  blockade  to  be  compre 
hended  in  the  orders  in  council,  the  United  States  were 
compelled  so  to  regard  it  in  their  subsequent  proceedings. 
There  was  a  period  when  a  favorable  change  in  the  pol- 
35 


410  APPENDIX.  [B] 

icy  of  the  British  cabinet  was  justly  considered  as  estab 
lished.  The  minister  plenipotentiary  of  his  Britannic  ma 
jesty  here  proposed  an  adjustment  of  the  differences  more 
immediately  endangering  the  harmony  of  the  two  countries. 
The  proposition  was  accepted  with  a  promptitude  and  cor 
diality  corresponding  with  the  invariable  professions  of  this 
government.  A  foundation  appeared  to  be  laid  for  a  sincere 
and  lasting  reconciliation.  The  prospect,  however,  quickly 
vanished.  The  whole  proceeding  was  disavowed  by  the 
British  government  without  any  explanations  which  could  at 
that  time  repress  the  belief  that  the  disavowal  proceeded 
from  a  spirit  of  hostility  to  the  commercial  rights  and  pros 
perity  of  the  United  States.  And  it  has  since  come  into 
proof,  that  at  the  very  moment  when  the  public  minister 
was  holding  the  language  of  friendship,  and  inspiring  confi 
dence  in  the  sincerity  of  the  negotiation  with  which  he  was 
charged,  a  secret  agent  of  his  government  was  employed  in 
intrigues,  having  for  their  object  a  subversion  of  our  gov 
ernment,  and  a  dismemberment  of  our  happy  union. 

In  reviewing  the  conduct  of  Great  Britain  towards  the 
United  States,  our  attention  is  necessarily  drawn  to  the 
warfare  just  renewed  by  the  savages  on  one  of  our  extensive 
frontiers ;  a  warfare  which  is  known  to  spare  neither  age 
or  sex,  and  to  be  distinguished  by  features  peculiarly  shock 
ing  to  humanity.  It  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  activity 
and  combinations  which  have  for  some  time  been  developing 
themselves  among  tribes  in  the  constant  intercourse  with 
British  traders  and  garrisons,  without  connecting  their 
hostility  with  that  influence,  and  without  recollecting  the 
authenticated  examples  of  such  interpositions  heretofore 
furnished  by  the  officers  and  agents  of  that  government. 


[B]  APPENDIX.  411 

Such  is  the  spectacle  of  injuries  and  indignities  which 
have  been  heaped  on  our  country,  and  such  the  crisis  which 
its  unexampled  forbearance  and  conciliatory  efforts  have 
not  been  able  to  avert.  It  might  at  least  have  been  expected 
that  an  enlightened  nation,  if  less  urged  by  moral  obliga 
tions,  or  invited  by  friendly  dispositions  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  would  have  found,  in  its  true  interest  alone, 
a  sufficient  motive  to  respect  their  rights  and  their  tranquil 
lity  on  the  high  seas;  that  an  enlarged  policy  would  have 
favored  that  free  and  general  circulation  of  commerce,  in 
which  the  British  nation  is  at  all  times  interested,  and  which 
in  times  of  war  is  the  best  alleviation  of  its  calamities  to 
herself  as  well  as  the  other  belligerents ;  and  more  espe 
cially  that  the  British  cabinet  would  not,  for  the  sake  of  the 
precarious  and  surreptitious  intercourse  with  hostile  markets, 
have  persevered  in  a  course  of  measures  which  necessarily 
put  at  hazard  the  invaluable  market  of  a  great  and  growing 
country,  disposed  to  cultivate  the  mutual  advantages  of  an 
active  commerce. 

Other  councils  have  prevailed.  Our  moderation  and 
conciliation  have  had  no  other  effect  than  to  encourage  per 
severance  and  to  enlarge  pretensions.  We  behold  our  sea 
faring  citizens  still  the  daily  victims  of  lawless  violence 
committed  on  the  great  common  and  highway  of  nations, 
even  within  sight  of  the  country  which  owes  them  protec 
tion.  We  behold  our  vessels  freighted  with  the  products 
&  our  soil  and  industry,  or  returning  with  the  honest  pro 
ceeds  of  them,  wrested  from  their  lawful  destinations,  con 
fiscated  by  prize  courts,  no  longer  the  organ  of  public  law, 
but  the  instruments  of  arbitrary  edicts ;  and  their  unfortu 
nate  crews  dispersed  and  lost,  or  forced  or  inveigled,  in 


412  APPENDIX.  [B] 

British  ports,  into  British  fleets ;  whilst  arguments  are  em 
ployed  in  support  of  these  aggressions,  which  have  no1 
foundation  but  in  a  principle  equally  supporting  a  claim  to 
regulate  our  external  commerce  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

We  behold,  in  fine,  on  the  side  of  Great  Britain  a  state 
of  war  against  the  United  States ;  and  on  the  side  of  the 
United  States  a  state  of  peace  toward  Great  Britain. 

Whether  the  United  States  shall  continue  passive  under 
these  progressive  usurpations,  and  these  accumulating 
wrongs,  or,  opposing  force  to  force  in  defense  of  their  nat 
ural  rights,  shall  commit  a  just  cause  into  the  hands  of  the 
Almighty  Disposer  of  events,  avoiding  all  connections  which 
might  entangle  it  in  the  contests  or  views  of  other  powers, 
and  preserving  a  constant  readiness  to  concur  in  an  honora 
ble  re-establishment  of  peace  and  friendship,  is  a  solemn 
question,  which  the  constitution  wisely  confides  to  the  leg 
islative  department  of  the  government.  In  recommending 
it  to  their  early  deliberations,  I  am  happy  in  the  assurance 
that  the  decision  will  be  worthy  the  enlightened  and  patri 
otic  councils  of  a  virtuous,  a  free,  and  a  powerful  nation. 

Having  presented  this  view  of  the  relations  of  the 
United  States  with  Great  Britain,  and  of  the  solemn  alter 
native  growing  out  of  them,  I  proceed  to  remark  that  the 
communications  last  made  to  Congress,  on  the  subject  of  our 
relations  with  France,  will  have  shown  that  since  the  revo 
cation  of  her  decrees  as  they  violated  the  neutral  rights  of 
the  United  States,  her  government  has  authorized  illegal 
captures,  by  its  privateers  and  public  ships,  and  that  other 
outrages  have  been  practiced  on  our  vessels  and  our  citizens. 
It  will  have  been  seen,  also,  that  no  indemnity  had  been 
provided  or  satisfactorily  pledged  for  the  extensive  spolia- 


[B]  APPENDIX.  413 

tions  committed  under  the  violent  and  retrospective  orders 
of  the  French  government  against  the  property  of  our  citi 
zens,  seized  within  the  jurisdiction  of  France.  I  abstain 
at  this  time  from  recommending  to  the  consideration  of 
Congress  definitive  measures  with  respect  to  that  nation,  in 
the  expectation  that  the  result  of  unclosed  discussions  be 
tween  our  minister  plenipotentiary  at  Paris  and  the  French 
government  will  speedily  enable  Congress  to  decide,  with 
greater  advantage,  on  the  course  due  to  the  rights,  the 
interest,  and  the  honor  of  our  country. 

JAMES  MADISON. 
WASHINGTON,  June  1,  1812. 

The  committee  on  Foreign  relations, — to  whom  was  re 
ferred  the  Message  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
of  the  1st  of  June,  1812, — 

REPORT, — That  after  the  experience  which  the  United 
States  have  had  of  the  great  injustice  of  the  British  gov 
ernment  towards  them,  exemplified  by  so  many  acts  of  vio 
lence  and  oppression,  it  will  be  more  difficult  to  justify  to 
the  impartial  world  their  patient  forbearance  than  the  meas 
ures  to  which  it  has  become  necessary  to  resort,  to  avenge 
the  wrongs,  and  vindicate  the  rights  and  honor  of  the  nation. 
Your  committee  are  happy  to  observe,  on  a  dispassionate 
review  of  the  conduct  of  the  United  States,  that  they  see 
in  it  no  cause  for  censure. 

If  a  long  forbearance  under  injuries  ought  ever  to  be 
considered  a  virtue  in  any  nation,  it  is  one  which  peculiarly 
becomes  the  United  States.  No  people  ever  had  stronger 
motives  to  cherish  peace  :  none  have  ever  cherished  it  with 
greater  sincerity  and  zeal. 
35* 


4 1 4  APPENDIX.  [B] 

But  the  period  has  now  arrived  when  the  United  States 
must  support  their  character  and  station  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  or  submit  to  the  most  shameful  degradation. 
Forbearance  has  ceased  to  be  a  virtue.  War  on  the  one 
side,  and  peace  on  the  other,  is  a  situation  as  ruinous  as  it  is 
disgraceful.  The  mad  ambition,  the  lust  of  power  and 
commercial  avarice  of  Great  Britain,  arrogating  to  herself 
the  complete  dominion  of  the  ocean,  and  exercising  over  it 
a  lawless  and  unbounded  tyranny,  have  left  to  neutral  na 
tions  an  alternative  only  between  a  base  surrender  of  their 
rights  and  a  manly  surrender  of  them.  Happily  for  the 
United  States,  their  destiny,  under  the  aid  of  heaven,  is  in 
their  own  hands.  The  crisis  is  formidable  only  by  their 
love  of  peace.  As  soon  as  it  becomes  a  duty  to  relinquish 
their  situation,  danger  disappears.  They  have  suffered  no 
wrongs, — they  have  received  no  insults,  however  great,  for 
which  they  cannot  obtain  redress. 

More  than  seven  years  have  elapsed  since  the  commence 
ment  of  the  system  of  hostile  aggression  by  the  British 
government  on  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  United 
States.  The  manner  of  its  commencement  was  not  less 
hostile  than  the  spirit  with  which  it  has  been  prosecuted. 
The  United  States  have  invariably  done  everything  in  their 
power  to  preserve  the  relations  of  friendship  with  Great 
Britain.  Of  this  disposition  they  gave  a  distinguished  proof 
at  the  moment  when  they  were  made  the  victims  of  an  op 
posite  policy.  The  wrongs  of  the  last  war  had  not  been 
forgotten  at  the  commencement  of  the  present  one.  They 
warned  us  of  dangers  against  which  it  was  sought  to  pro 
vide.  As  early  as  the  year  1804,  the  minister  of  the  United 
States  at  London  was  instructed  to  invite  the  British  gov- 


[B]  APPENDIX.  415 

ernment  to  enter  into  a  negotiation  on  all  the  points  on 
which  a  coalition  might  arise  between  the  two  countries,  in 
the  course  of  the  war,  and  to  propose  to  it  an  arrangement 
of  their  claims  on  fair  and  reasonable  conditions.  The  in 
vitation  was  accepted.  A  negotiation  had  commenced  and 
was  depending,  and  nothing  had  occurred  to  excite  a  doubt 
that  it  would  not  terminate  to  the  satisfaction  of  both  par 
ties.  It  was  at  this  time,  and  under  these  circumstances, 
that  an  attack  was  made  by  surprise  on  an  important  branch 
of  American  commerce,  which  affected  every  part  of  the 
United  States,  and  involved  many  of  their  citizens  in  ruin. 

The  commerce  on  which  this  attack  was  so  unexpectedly 
made  was  between  the  United  Utatcs  and  the  colonies  of 
France,  Spain,  and  other  enemies  of  Great  Britain.  A 
commerce  just  in  itself,  sanctioned  by  the  example  of  Great 
Britain,  in  regard  to  the  trade  with  her  own  colonies; 
sanctioned  by  a  solemn  act  between  the  two  governments  in 
the  last  war,  and  sanctioned  by  the  practice  of  the  British 
government  in  the  present  war,  more  than  two  years  having 
elapsed  without  any  interference  with  it. 

The  injustice  of  the  attack  could  only  be  equaled  by 
the  absurdity  of  the  pretext  alleged  for  it.  It  was  pre 
tended  by  the  British  government  that,  in  case  of  war,  her 
enemy  had  no  right  to  modify  its  colonial  regulations  so  as 
to  mitigate  the  calamities  of  war  to  the  inhabitants  of  its 
colonies.  This  pretension  to  Great  Britain  is  utterly  incom 
patible  with  the  rights  of  the  sovereignty  in  every  independ 
ent  State.  If  we  recur  to  the  well-established  and  universally 
admitted  law  of  nations,  we  shall  find  no  sanction  to  it  in 
that  venerable  code.  The  sovereignty  of  every  State  is  co 
extensive  with  its  dominions,  and  cannot  be  abrogated,  or 


416  APPENDIX.  [B] 

curtailed  in  rights,  as  to  any  part,  except  by  conquest. 
Neutral  nations  have  a  right  to  trade  to  every  port  of  either 
belligerent  which  is  not  legally  blockaded,  and  in  all  articles 
which  are  not  contraband  of  war.  Such  is  the  absurdity 
of  this  pretension,  that  your  committee  are  aware,  especially 
after  the  able  manner  in  which  it  has  been  heretofore  refuted 
and  exposed,  that  they  would  offer  an  insult  to  the  under 
standing  of  the  House  if  they  enlarged  on  it;  and  if  any 
thing  could  add  to  the  high  sense  of  the  injustice  of  the 
British  government  in  the  transaction,  it  would  be  the  con 
trast  which  her  conduct  exhibits  in  regard  to  this  trade,  and 
in  regard  to  a  similar  trade  by  neutrals  with  her  own  colo 
nies.  It  is  known  to  the  world  that  Great  Britain  regulates 
her  own  trade  in  war  and  in  peace,  at  home  in  her  colonies, 
as  she  finds  for  her  interest — that  in  war  she  relaxes  the 
restraints  of  her  colonial  systems  in  favor  of  the  colonies, 
and  that  it  never  was  suggested  that  she  had  not  a  right  to 
do  it,  or  that  a  neutral  in  taking  advantage  of  the  relaxa 
tion  violated  a  belligerent  right  of  her  enemy.  But  with 
Great  Britain  everything  is  lawful.  It  is  only  in  a  trade 
with  her  enemies  that  the  United  States  can  do  wrong. 
With  them  all  trade  is  unlawful. 

In  the  year  1793,  an  attack  was  made  by  the  British 
government  on  the  same  branch  of  our  neutral  trade,  which 
had  nearly  involved  the  two  countries  in  a  war.  That  dif 
ference,  however,  was  amicably  accommodated.  The  pre 
tension  was  withdrawn  and  reparation  made  to  the  United 
States  for  the  losses  which  they  had  suffered  by  it.  It  was 
fair  to  infer  from  that  arrangement  that  the  commerce  was 
deemed  by  the  British  government  lawful,  and  that  it  would 
not  be  again  disturbed. 


[B]  APPENDIX.  417 

Had  the  British  government  been  resolved  to  contest 
this  trade  with  neutrals,  it  was  due  to  the  character  of  the 
British  nation  that  the  decision  should  be  made  known  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States.  The  existence  of  a 
negotiation  which  had  been  invited  by  our  government,  for 
the  purpose  of  preventing  differences  by  an  amicable  ar 
rangement  of  their  respective  pretensions,  gave  a  strong 
claim  to  the  notification,  while  it  afforded  the  fairest  oppor 
tunity  for  it.  But  a  very  different  policy  animated  the  then 
cabinet  of  England.  The  liberal  confidence  and  friendly 
overtures  of  the  United  States  were  taken  advantage  of  to 
ensnare  them.  Steady  to  its  purpose,  and  inflexibly  hostile 
to  this  country,  the  British  government  calmly  looked  for 
ward  to  the  moment  when  it  might  give  the  most  deadly 
wound  to  our  interests.  A  trade  just  in  itself,  which  was 
secured  by  so  many  strong  and  sacred  pledges,  was  consid 
ered  safe.  Our  citizens,  with  their  usual  industry  and 
enterprise,  had  embarked  in  it  a  vast  proportion  of  their 
shipping,  and  of  their  capital,  which  were  at  sea,  under  no 
other  protection  than  the  law  of  nations,  and  the  confidence 
which  they  reposed  in  the  justice  and  friendship  of  the  Brit 
ish  nation.  At  this  period  the  unexpected  blow  was  given ; 
many  of  our  vessels  were  seized,  carried  into  port  and  con 
demned  by  a  tribunal,  which,  while  it  professes  to  respect 
the  law  of  nations,  obeyed  the  mandates  of  its  own  govern 
ment.  Hundreds  of  other  vessels  were  driven  from  the 
ocean,  and  the  trade  itself  in  a  great  measure  suppressed. 
The  effect  produced  by  this  attack  on  the  lawful  commerce 
of  the  United  States  was  such  as  might  have  been  expected 
from  a  virtuous,  independent  and  highly  injured  people. 
But  one  sentiment  pervaded  the  whole  American  nation. 


418  APPENDIX.  [B] 

No  local  interests  were  regarded ;  no  sordid  motives  felt. 
Without  looking  to  the  parts  which  suffered  most,  the  inva 
sion  of  our  rights  was  considered  a  common  cause,  and  from 
one  extremity  of  our  Union  to  the  other  was  heard  the 
voice  of  an  united  people,  calling  on  their  government  to 
avenge  their  wrongs,  and  vindicate  the  rights  and  honor  of 
their  country. 

From  this  period  the  British  government  has  gone  on 
in  a  continued  encroachment  on  the  rights  and  interests  of 
the  United  States,  disregarding  in  its  course,  in  many  in 
stances,  obligations  which  have  heretofore  been  held  sacred 
by  civilized  nations. 

In  May,  1806,  the  whole  coast  of  the  continent,  from 
the  Elbe  to  Brest  inclusive,  was  declared  to  be  in  a  state  of 
blockade.  By  this  act,  the  well-established  principles  of 
the  law  of  nations,  principles  which  have  served  for  ages  as 
guides,  and  fixed  the  boundary  between  the  rights  to  beli- 
gerents  and  neutrals,  were  violated  :  By  the  law  of  nations, 
as  recognized  by  Great  Britain  herself,  no  blockade  is  law 
ful,  unless  it  be  sustained  by  the  application  of  an  adequate 
force,  and  that  an  adequate  force  was  applied  to  this  block 
ade,  in  its  full  extent,  ought  not  to  be  pretended.  Whether 
Great  Britain  was  able  to  maintain,  legally,  so  extensive  a 
blockade,  considering  the  war  in  which  she  is  engaged,  re 
quiring  such  extensive  naval  operations,  is  a  question  which 
it  is  not  necessary  at  this  time  to  examine.  It  is  sufficient 
to  be  known  that  such  force  was  not  applied,  and  this  is 
evident  from  the  terms  of  the  blockade  itself,  by  which, 
comparatively,  an  inconsiderable  portion  of  the  coast  only 
was  declared  to  be  in  a  state  of  strict  and  rigorous  Hlockade. 
The  objection  to  the  measure  is  not  diminished  by  that  cir- 


[B]  APPENDIX.  419 

cu instance.  If  the  force  was  not  applied,  the  blockade  was 
unlawful  from  whatever  cause  the  failure  might  proceed. 
The  belligerent  who  institutes  the  blockade  cannot  absolve 
itself  from  the  obligation  to  apply  the  force  under  any  pre 
text  whatever.  For  a  belligerent  to  relax  a  blockade,  which 
it  could  not  maintain,  it  would  be  a  refinement  in  justice, 
not  less  insulting  to  the  understanding  than  repugnant  to 
the  law  of  nations.  To  claim  merit  for  the  mitigation  of  an 
evil,  which  the  party  either  had  not  the  power  or  found  it 
inconvenient  to  inflict,  would  be  a  new  mode  of  encroaching 
on  neutral  rights.  Your  committee  think  it  just  to  remark 
that  this  act  of  the  British  government  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  adopted  in  the  sense  in  which  it  has  been  since 
construed.  On  consideration  of  all  the  circumstances  at 
tending  the  measure,  and  particularly  the  character  of  the 
distinguished  statesman  who  announced  it,  we  are  persuaded 
that  it  was  conceived  in  a  spirit  of  conciliation,  and  intended 
to  lead  to  an  accommodation  of  all  differences  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain.  His  death  disappointed 
that  hope,  and  the  act  has  since  become  subservient  to  other 
purposes.  It  has  been  made  by  his  successors  a  pretext  for 
that  vast  system  of  usurpation  which  has  so  long  oppressed 
and  harassed  our  commerce. 

The  next  act  of  the  British  government  which  claims 
our  attention  is  the  order  of  council  of  January  7,  1807,  by 
which  neutral  powers  are  prohibited  trading  from  one  port 
to  another  of  France  or  her  allies,  or  any  other  country  with 
which  Great  Britain  might  not  freely  trade.  By  this  order 
the  pretension  of  England,  heretofore  claimed  by  every 
other  power,  to  prohibit  neutrals  disposing  of  parts  of  their 
cargoes  at  different  ports  of  the  same  enemy,  is  revived  ajid 


420  APPENDIX.  [B] 

with  vast  accumulation  of  injury.  Every  enemy,  however 
great  the  number  or  distant  from  each  other,  is  considered 
one,  and  the  like  trade  even  with  powers  at  peace  with  Eng 
land,  who  from  motives  of  policy  had  excluded  or  restrained 
her  commerce,  was  also  prohibited.  In  this  act  the  British 
government  evidently  disclaimed  all  regard  for  neutral 
rights.  Aware  that  the  measures  authorized  by  it  could 
find  no  pretext  in  any  belligerent  right,  none  was  urged. 
To  prohibit  the  sale  of  our  produce,  consisting  of  innocent 
articles,  at  any  port  of  a  belligerent,  not  blockaded, — to  con 
sider  every  belligerent  as  one,  and  subject  neutrals  to  the 
same  restraints  with  all,  as  if  there  was  but  one, — were  bold 
encroachments.  But  to  restrain  or  in  any  manner  interfere 
with  our  commerce  with  neutral  nations  with  whom  Great 
Britain  was  at  peace,  and  against  whom  she  had  no  justifi 
able  cause  of  war,  for  the  sole  reason  that  they  restrained  or 
excluded  from  their  ports  her  commerce,  was  utterly  in 
compatible  with  the  pacific  relations  subsisting  between  the 
two  countries. 

We  proceed  to  bring  into  view  the  British  order  .in 
council  of  November  llth,  1807,  which  superseded  every 
other  order,  and  consummated  that  system  of  hostility  on 
the  commerce  of  the  United  States  which  has  been  since  so 
steadily  pursued.  By  this  order  all  France  and  her  allies 
and  every  other  country  at  war  with  Great  Britain,  or  with 
which  she  was  not  at  war,  from  which  the  British  flag  was 
excluded  and  all  the  colonies  of  her  enemies,  were  subjected 
to  the  same  restrictions  as  if  they  were  actually  blockaded  in 
the  most  strict  and  rigorous  manner ;  and  all  trade  in  ar ti 
des ,  the  produce  and  manufacture  of  the  said  countries 
and  colonies,  and  the  vessels  engaged  in  it,  were  subject  to 


[B]  APPENDIX.  421 

capture  and  condemnation  as  lawful  prizes.  To  this  order 
certain  exceptions  were  made,  which  we  forbear  to  notice, 
because  they  were  not  adopted  from  a  regard  to  natural 
rights,  but  were  dictated  by  policy  to  promote  the  commerce 
of  England,  and,  so  far  as  they  related  to  neutral  powers, 
were  said  to  emanate  from  the  clemency  of  the  British  gov 
ernment. 

It  would  be  surperfluous  in  your  committee  to  state  that 
by  this  order  the  British  government  declared  direct  and 
positive  war  against  the  United  States.  The  dominion  of 
the  ocean  was  completely  usurped  by  it,  all  commerce  for 
bidden,  and  every  flag  driven  from  it  or  subjected  to  cap 
ture  and  condemnation,  which  did  not  subserve  the  policy 
of  the  British  government  by  paying  it  a  tribute  and  sailing 
under  its  sanction.  From  this  period  the  United  States 
have  incurred  the  heaviest  losses  and  most  mortifying  hu 
miliations.  They  have  borne  the  calamities  of  war  without 
retorting  them  upon  its  authors. 

So  far  your  committee  has  presented  to  the  view  of 
the  House  the  aggressions  which  have  been  committed,  un 
der  the  authority  of  the  British  government,  on  the  com 
merce  of  the  United  States.  We  will  now  proceed  to  other 
wrongs  which  have  been  still  more  severely  felt.  Among 
these  is  the  impressment  of  our  seamen,  a  practice  which 
has  been  unceasingly  maintained  by  Great  Britain  in  the 
wars  to  which  she  has  been  a  party  since  our  revolution. 
Your  committee  cannot  convey  in  adequate  terms  the  deep 
sense  which  they  entertain  of  the  injustice  and  oppression 
of  this  proceeding.  Uuder  the  pretext  of  impressing  Brit 
ish  seamen,  our  fellow-citizens  are  seized  in  British  ports, 
on  the  high  seas,  and  in  every  other  quarter  to  which  the 
36 


422  APPENDIX.  [B] 

British  power  extends,  are  taken  on  board  British-men-of- 
war,  and  compelled  to  serve  them  as  British  subjects.  In 
this  mode  our  citizens  are  wantonly  snatched  from  their 
country  and  their  families,  deprived  of  their  liberty  and 
doomed  to  an  ignominious  and  slavish  bondage,  compelled 
to  fight  the  battles  of  a  foreign  country,  and  often  to  perish 
in  them.  Our  flag  has  given  them  no  protection  ;  it  has 
been  unceasingly  violated,  and  our  vessels  exposed  to  danger 
by  the  loss  of  the  men  taken  from  them.  Your  committee 
need  not  remark  that  while  the  practice  is  continued,  it  is 
impossible  for  the  United  States  to  consider  themselves  an 
independent  nation.  Every  new  case  is  a  new  proof  of  their 
degradation.  Its  continuance  is  the  more  unjustifiable  be 
cause  the  United  States  have  repeatedly  proposed  to  the 
British  government  an  arrangement  which  would  secure  to 
it  the  control  of  its  own  people.  An  exemption  of  the  Uni 
ted  States  from  this  degrading  oppression,  and  their  flag  from 
violation,  is  all  that  they  have  sought. 

The  lawless  waste  of  our  trade,  and  equally  unlawful 
impressment  of  our  seamen,  have  been  much  aggravated  by 
the  insults  and  indignities  attending  them.  Under  the 
pretext  of  blockading  the  ports  and  harbors  of  France  and 
her  allies,  British  squadrons  have  been  stationed  on  our  own 
coast  to  watch  and  annoy  our  own  trade.  To  give  effect  to 
the  blockade  of  European  ports,  the  ports  and  harbors  of 
the  United  States  have  been  blockaded.  In  executing  these 
orders  of  the  British  government,  or  in  obeying  the  spirit 
which  was  known  to  animate  it,  the  commanders  of  these 
squadrons  have  encroached  on  our  jurisdiction ;  siezed  our 
vessels  and  carried  into  effect  impressments  within  our  lim 
its,  and  done  other  acts  of  great  injustice,  violence  and  op- 


[B]  APPENDIX.  423 

pression.  The  United  States  have  seen,  with  feelings  of 
mingled  indignation  and  surprise,  that  these  acts,  instead  of 
procuring  to  the  perpetrators  the  punishment  due  to  their 
crimes,  have  not  failed  to  recommend  them  to  the  favor  of 
their  government. 

Whether  the  British  government  has  contributed  by 
active  measures  to  exercise  against  us  the  hostility  of  the 
savage  tribes  on  our  frontiers,  your  committee  are  not  dis 
posed  to  occupy  much  time  in  investigating.  Certain  indi 
cations  of  general  notoriety  may  supply  the  place  of  authen 
tic  documents  ]  though  these  have  not  been  wanting  to  es 
tablish  the  fact  in  some  instances.  It  is  known  that  symp 
toms  of  British  hostility  towards  the  United  States  have 
never  failed  to  produce  corresponding  symptoms  among 
those  tribes.  It  is  also  well  known  that,  on  all  such  occa 
sions,  abundant  supplies  of  the  ordinary  munitions  of  war 
have  been  afforded  by  the  agents  of  British  commercial 
companies,  and  even  from  British  garrisons,  wherewith  they 
were  enabled  to  commence  that  system  of  savage  warfare 
on  our  frontier  which  has  been,  at  all  times,  indiscriminate 
in  its  effects  on  all  ages,  sexes  and  conditions,  and  so  revolt 
ing  to  humanity. 

Your  committee  would  be  much  gratified  if  they  could 
close  here  the  detail  of  British  aggressions ;  but  it  is  their 
duty  to  recite  another  act  of  still  greater  malignity  than  any 
of  those  which  have  been  already  brought  to  your  view. 
The  attempt  to  dismember  our  Union  and  overthrow  our 
excellent  constitution  by  a  secret  mission,  the  object  of 
which  was  to  foment  discontents,  and  excite  insurrection 
against  the  constituted  authorities  and  laws  of  the  nation, 
as  lately  disclosed  by  the  agent  employed  in  it,  affords  full 


424  APPENDIX.  [B] 

proof  that  there  is  no  bound  to  the  hostility  of  the  British 
government  towards  the  United  States — no  act,  however 
unjustifiable,  which  it  would  not  commit  to  accomplish 
their  ruin.  This  attempt  excites  the  greater  honor  from 
the  consideration  that  it  was  made  while  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain  "were  at  peace,  and  an  amicable  negotia 
tion  was  depending  between  them  for  the  accommodation 
of  their  differences,  through  public  ministers,  regularly 
authorized  for  the  purpose. 

The  United  States  have  beheld,  with  unexampled  for 
bearance,  this  continued  series  of  hostile  encroachments  on 
their  rights  and  interests,  in  the  hope  that  yielding  to  the 
force  of  friendly  remonstrances,  often  repeated,  the  British 
government  might  adopt  a  more  just  policy  towards  them ; 
but  that  hope  no  longer  exists.  They  have  also  weighed 
impartially  the  reasons  which  have  been  urged  by  the  Brit 
ish  government  in  vindication  of  these  encroachments,  and 
found  in  them  neither  justification  or  apology. 

The  British  government  has  alleged,  in  vindication  of 
the  orders  in  council,  that  they  were  resorted  to  as  a  retal 
iation  on  France,  for  similar  aggressions  committed  by  her 
on  our  neutral  trade  with  the  British  dominions.  But  how 
has  this  plea  been  supported  ?  The  dates  of  all  British  and 
French  aggressions  are  well  known  to  the  world.  Their 
origin  and  progress  have  been  marked  with  too  wide  and 
destructive  a  waste  of  the  property  of  our  fellow-citizens  to 
have  been  forgotten.  The  decree  of  Berlin,  of  November 
21st,  1806,  was  the  first  aggression  of  France  in  the  pres 
ent  war.  Eighteen  months  had  then  elapsed,  after  the  at 
tack  made  by  Great  Britain  on  our  neutral  trade,  with  the 
colonies  of  France  and  her  allies,  and  six  months  from  the 


[B]  APPENDIX.  425 

date  of  the  proclamation  of  May,  1806.  Even  on  the  7th 
January,  1807,  the  date  of  the  first  British  order  in  coun 
cil,  so  short  a  time  had  elapsed  after  the  Berlin  decree,  that 
it  was  hardly  possible  that  the  intelligence  of  it  should  have 
reached  the  United  States.  A  retaliation  which  is  to  pro 
duce  its  effect,  by  operating  on  a  neutral  power,  ought  not 
to  be  resorted  to  till  the  neutral  had  justified  it  by  a  culpa 
ble  acquiescence  in  the  unlawful  act  of  the  other  belligerent. 
It  ought  to  be  delayed  until  after  suflicient  time  had  been 
allowed  to  the  neutral  to  remonstrate  against  the  measure 
complained  of  to  receive  an  answer,  and  to  act  on  it,  which 
had  not  been  done  in  the  present  instance ;  and  when  the 
order  of  November  llth  was  issued,  it  is  well  known  that  a 
minister  of  France  had  declared  to  the  minister  plenipoten 
tiary  of  the  United  States  at  Paris,  that  it  was  not  intended 
that  the  decree  of  Berlin  should  apply  to  the  United  States. 
It  is  equally  well  known  that  no  American  vessel  had  then 
been  condemned  under  it,  or  seizure  been  made.  The  facts 
prove  incontestibly  that  the  measures  of  France,  however 
unjustifiably  in  themselves,  were  nothing  more  than  a  pre 
text  for  those  of  England.  And  of  the  ihsufficiency  of  that 
pretext,  ample  proof  has  already  been  afforded  by  the  British 
government  itself,  and  in  the  most  impressive  form,  al 
though  it  has  declared  that  the  orders  in  council  were  retal 
iatory  on  France  for  her  decrees.  It  was  also  declared,  and 
in  the  orders  themselves,  that  owing  to  the  superiority  of 
the  British  navy,  by  which  the  fleets  of  France  and  her 
allies  were  confined  within  her  own  ports,  the  French  decrees 
were  considered  only  as  empty  threats. 

It  is  no  justification  of  the  wrongs  of  one  power,  that 
the  like  were  committed  by  another ;  nor  ought  the  fact,  if 
36* 


426  APPENDIX.  [B] 

true,  to  have  been  urged  by  either,  as  it  could  afford  no 
proof  of  its  love  of  justice,  of  its  magnanimity,  or  even 
of  its  courage.  It  is  more  worthy  the  government  of  a 
great  nation  to  relieve  than  to  assail  the  injured.  JNor  can  a 
repetition  of  the  wrongs  by  another  power  repair  the  violated 
rights  or  wounded  honor  of  the  injured  party.  An  utter 
inability  alone  to  resist  would  justify  a  quiet  surrender  of 
our  rights,  and  degrading  submission  to  the  will  of  others. 
To  that  condition  the  United  States  are  not  reduced,  nor  do 
they  fear  it.  That  they  ever  consented  to  discuss  with 
either  power  the  misconduct  of  the  other,  is  a  proof  of  their 
love  of  peace,  of  their  moderation,  and  of  the  hope  which 
they  still  indulged,  that  friendly  appeals  to  just  and  gener 
ous  sentiment  would  not  be  made  to  them  in  vain.  But 
the  motive  was  mistaken,  if  their  forbearance  was  imputed, 
either  to  the  want  of  a  just  sensibility  to  their  wrongs,  or 
of  a  determination,  if  suitable  redress  was  not  obtained,  to 
resent  them.  The  time  has  now  arrived  when  this  system 
of  reasoning  must  cease.  It  would  be  insulting  to  repeat 
it;  it  would  be  degrading  to  hear  it.  The  IJnited  States 
must  act  as  an  independent  nation,  and  assert  their  rights 
and  avenge  their  wrongs,  according  to  their  own  estimate 
of  them,  with  the  party  who  commits  them,  holding  it 
responsible  for  its  own  misdeeds  unmitigated  by  those  of 
another. 

For  the  difference  made  between  Great  Britain  and 
France,  by  the  application  of  the  non-importation  act 
against  England  only,  the  motive  has  been  already  too  often 
explained,  and  is  too  well  known  to  require  further  illustra 
tion.  In  the  commercial  restrictions  to  which  the  United 
States  resorted  as  an  evidence  of  their  sensibility,  and  a 


[B]  APPENDIX.  427 

mild  retaliation  of  their  wrongs,  they  invariably  placed  both 
powers  on  the  same  footing,  holding  to  each,  in  respect  to 
itself,  the  same  accommodation,  in  case  it  accepted  the  con 
dition  offered;  and  in  respect  to  the  other,  the  same  re 
straint,  if  it  refused.  Had  the  British  government  con 
firmed  the  arrangement  which  was  entered  into  with  the 
British  minister  in  1809,  and  France  maintained  her  de 
crees,  would  the  United  States  have  had  to  resist,  with 
the  firmness  belonging  to  their  character,  the  continued 
violation  of  their  rights  ?  The  committee  do  not  hesitate  to 
declare  that  France  has  greatly  injured  the  United  States,  and 
that  satisfactory  reparation  has  not  yet  been  made  for  many 
of  those  injuries;  but  that  is  a  concern  which  the  United 
States  will  look  to  and  settle  for  themselves.  The  high 
character  of  the  American  people  is  a  sufficient  pledge  to 
the  world,  that  they  will  not  fail  to  settle  it  on  conditions 
which  they  have  a  right  to  claim. 

More  recently,  the  true  policy  of  the  British  government 
towards  the  United  States  has  been  completely  unfolded. 
It  has  been  publicly  declared  by  those  in  power  that  the 
orders  in  council  should  not  be  repealed  until  the  French 
government  had  revoked  all  its  internal  restraints  on  the 
British  commerce,  and  that  the  trade  of  the  United  States 
with  France  and  her  allies  should  be  prohibited  until  Great 
Britain  was  also  allowed  to  trade  with  them.  By  this 
declaration,  it  appears,  that  to  satisfy  the  pretensions  of  the 
British  government,  the  United  States  must  join  Great 
Britain  in  the,  war  with  France,  and  prosecute  the  war  until 
France  should  be  subdued,  for  without  her  subjugation  it 
were  in  vain  to  presume  on  such  a  concession.  The  hostil 
ity  of  the  British  government  to  these  States  has  been  still 


428  APPENDIX.  [B] 

further  disclosed.  It  has  been  made  manifest  that  the 
United  States  are  considered  by  it  as  the  commercial  rival 
of  Great  Britain,  and  that  their  prosperity  and  growth  are 
incompatible  with  her  welfare.  When  all  these  circum 
stances  are  taken  into  consideration,  it  is  impossible  for  your 
committee  to  doubt  the  motives  which  have  governed  the 
British  ministry  in  all  its  measures  towards  the  United 
States  since  the  year  1805.  Equally  is  it  impossible  to 
doubt,  longer,  the  course  which  the  United  States  ought  to 
pursue  towards  Great  Britain. 

From  this  view  of  the  multiplied  wrongs  of  the  British 
government,  since  the  commencement  of  the  present  war,  it 
must  be  evident  to  the  impartial  world  that  the  contest 
which  is  now  forced  on  the  United  States  is  radically  a 
contest  for  their  sovereignty  and  independence.  Your  com 
mittee  will  not  enlarge  on  any  of  the  injuries,  however 
great,  which  have  had  a  transitory  effect.  They  wish  to 
call  the  attention  of  the  House  to  those  of  a  parliamentary 
nature  only,  which  intrench  so  deeply  on  our  most  import 
ant  rights,  and  wound  so  extensively  and  vitally  our  best 
interests,  as  could  not  fail  to  deprive  the  United  States  of 
the  principal  advantages  of  their  revolution,  if  submitted 
to.  The  control  of  our  commerce  by  Great  Britain  in  reg 
ulating  at  pleasure,  and  expelling  it  almost  from  the  ocean ; 
the  oppressive  manner  in  which  these  regulations  have  been 
carried  into  effect,  by  seizing  and  confiscating  such  of  our 
vessels,  with  their  cargoes,  as  were  said  to  have  violated  her 
edicts,  often  without  previous  warning  of  their  danger ;  the 
impressment  of  our  citizens  from  on  board  our  own  vessels, 
on  the  high  seas,  and  elsewhere,  and  holding  them  in  bond 
age  until  it  suited  the  convenience  of  these  Oppressors  to 


[B]  APPENDIX.  429 

deliver  them  up,  are  encroachments  of  that  high  and  dan 
gerous  tendency  which  could  not  fail  to  produce  that  perni 
cious  effect,  nor  would  those  be  the  only  consequences  that 
would  result  from  it.  The  British  government  might  for  a 
while  be  satisfied  with  the  ascendancy  thus  gained  over  us, 
but  its  pretensions  would  soon  increase.  The  proof  which 
so  complete  and  disgraceful  a  submission  to  its  authority 
would  afford  of  our  degeneracy,  could  not  fail  to  inspire 
confidence  that  there  was  no  limit  to  which  its  usurpations 
and  our  degradations  might  not  be  carried. 

Your  committee  believing  that  the  freeborn  sons  of 
America  are  worthy  to  enjoy  the  liberty  which  their  fathers 
purchased  at  the  price  of  much  blood  and  treasure,  and  see 
ing,  in  the  measures  adopted  by  Great  Britain,  a  course 
commenced  and  persisted  in  which  might  lead  to  a  loss  of 
national  character  and  independence,  feel  no  hesitation  in 
advising  resistance  by  force,  in  which  the  Americans  of  the 
present  day  will  prove  to  the  enemy  and  to  the  world  that 
we  have  not  only  inherited  that  liberty  which  our  fathers 
gave  us,  but  also  the  will  and  power  to  maintain  it.  Rely 
ing  on  the  patriotism  of  the  nation,  and  confidently  trusting 
that  the  Lord  of  Hosts  will  go  with  us  to  battle  in  a  right 
eous  cause,  and  crown  our  efforts  with  success — your  com 
mittee  recommend  an  immediate  appeal  t^  ARMS. 


AN  ACT 

Declaring  War  between  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ire 
land,  and  the  dependencies  thereof,  and  the  United  States  of  America 
and  their  territories. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa 
tives  of  the    United   States  in    Congress   assembled,    That 


430  APPENDIX.  [B] 

WAR  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  declared  tc  exist,  between 
the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  and  the 
dependencies  thereof,  and  the  United  States  of  America 
and  their  territories ;  and  that  the  President  of  the  United 
States  be,  and  he  is,  hereby  authorized  to  use  the  whole  land 
and  naval  force  of  the  United  States,  to  carry  the  same  into 
effect,  and  to  issue  to  private  armed  vessels  of  the  United 
States  commissions,  or  letters.of  marque  and  general  repri 
sals,  in  such  form  as  he  shall  think  proper,  and  under  the 
seal  of  the  United  States,  against  the  vessels,  goods  and 
effects  of  the  government  of  the  same  United  Kingdom  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  of  the  subjects  thereof. 

June  18,  1812. 

Approved, — JAMES  MADISON. 

On  the  final  passage  of  the  act  in  the  Senate,  the  vote 
was  19  to  13— in  the  House  79  to  49. 


By  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

A   PROCLAMATION. 

\ 

Whereas  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  by  virtue 
of  the  constituted  authority  vested  in  them,  have  declared 
by  their  act,  bearing  date  the  18th  day  of  the  present  month, 
that  war  exists  between  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Bri 
tain  and  Ireland,  and  the  dependencies  thereof,  and  the 
United  States  of  America  and  their  territories :  Now, 
therefore,  I,  JAMES  MADISON,  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  do  hereby  proclaim  the  same  to  all  whom 
it  may  concern ;  and  I  do  especially  enjoin  on  all  persons 
holding  office,  civil  or  military,  under  the  authority  of  the 


[B]  APPENDIX.  431 

United  States,  that  they  be  vigilant  and  zealous  in  dis 
charging  the  duties  respectively  incident  thereto :  and  I 
do  moreover  exhort  all  the  good  people  of  the  United  States, 
as  they  love  their  country, — as  they  value  the  precious  her 
itage  derived  from  the  virtue  and  valor  of  their  fathers, — as 
they  feel  the  wrongs  which  have  forced  on  them  the  last  re 
sort  of  injured  nations, — and  as  they  consult  the  best  means 
under  the  blessings  of  Divine  Providence,  of  abridging  its 
calamities, — that  they  exert  themselves  in  preserving  order, 
in  promoting  concord,  in  maintaining  the  authority  and  the 
efficacy  of  the  laws,  and  in  supporting  and  invigorating  all 
the  measures  which  may  be  adopted  by  the  constituted  au 
thorities,  for  obtaining  a  speedy,  a  just,  and  an  honorable 
peace. 

In  testimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand, 
Jj.  jS.    and  caused  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed 

to  these  presents. 

Done  at  the  City  of  Washington  the  nineteenth  day  of  June 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  twelve,  and  of  the  In 
dependence  of  the  United  States  the  thirty-sixth. 

(Signed)  JAMES  MADISON,  President. 

(Signed)  JAMES  MONROE,  Secretary  of  State. 


GENERAL  GEORGE  ROGERS  CLARK. 
This  gentleman,  though  his  history  has  never  yet  been 
written,  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  eminent  men  and 
purest  patriots  the  country  has  ever  produced,  fruitful  as  it 
has  been  in  great  men  and  disinterested  patriots.  And  for 
decision,  energy,  forethought,  good  sense  and  intrepidity, 


432  APPENDIX.  [C] 

he  will  compare  favorably  with  any  general  of  the  Revolu 
tionary  War.  In  the  West  he  was  one  of  the  best,  if  not 
the  best,  soldier  that  ever  led  an  army  against  the  savage 
force.  He  has  been  esteemed,  too,  the  most  extraordinary 
military  genius  which  Virginia,  of  which  State  he  was  a 
native,  has  ever  produced,  although  the  field  of  his  opera 
tions  was  the  remote  wilderness  of  the  West.  Judge  Hall, 
a  biographer  of  General  Harrison,  declares  him  to  have 
been  a  man  of  extraordinary  talents  and  energy  of  charac 
ter,  and  possessed  of  a  military  genius,  which  enabled  him 
to  plan  with  consummate  wisdom,  and  to  execute  his  designs 
with  decision  and  promptitude. 

His  great  mind  readily  comprehended  the  situation  of 
the  country,  and  he  made  himself  acquainted  with  the  topo 
graphy  of  the  whole  region  and  the  localities  of  the  ene 
mies  forts,  as  well  as  the  strength  of  their  forces.  He 
possessed  the  rare  faculty  of  penetrating  the  designs  of  his 
antagonist,  thus  becoming  informed  of  the  actual  condition 
and  movements  of  the  enemy.  He  could  therefore  deduce 
his  subsequent  operations  and  his  ulterior  designs,  and 
hence  was  enabled  to  anticipate  and  defeat  all  his  plans  and 
movements  before  they  were  matured.  In  the  execution 
of  his  plans,  his  movements  were  made  with  such  precision 
and  celerity,  and  conducted  with  such  consummate  judg 
ment,  that  success  was  always  doubly  ensured.  General 
Washington  entertained  the  highest  opinion  of  his  charac 
ter,  talents  and  military  genius,  and  long  hesitated  whether 
he  would  appoint  him  or  "  Mad"  Anthony  Wayne  to  the 
command  of  the  army  designed  to  chastise  the  north-western 
Indians  after  the  defeat  of  General  St.  Clair.  He  only  se 
lected  General  Wayne  because  he  was  compelled  to  make  a 


[o]  ArpENDix.  433 


choice  between  them  —  not  because  he  believed  either  pos 
sessed  superior  qualifications  or  claims  as  a  general. 

General  Clark;,  it  has  already  been  stated,  was  a  native 
of  Virginia,  and  was  born  in  1742.  In  his  personal  ap 
pearance  he  was  commanding  and  dignified,  and  was  well 
calculated  to  attract  attention.  His  personal  appearance 
was  rendered  particularly  agreeable  by  the  manliness  of  his 
deportment,  the  intelligence  of  his  conversation,  and,  above 
all,  by  the  vivacity  of  his  manners  and  the  boldness  of  his 
spirit  for  enterprise. 

Early  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  while  a  private  citi 
zen,  holding  no  commission,  civil  or  military,  he  distin 
guished  himself  by  his  efforts  to  protect  the  frontier  settle 
ments  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  against  the  incursions 
of  the  Indians.  He  led  the  pnrty  which  made  the  first  set 
tlement  at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  where  an  improvement 
was  commenced,  from  which  the  splendid,  flourishing  and 
wealthy  city  of  Louisville  has  grown  up. 

General  Clark  was  the  leading  commissioner  in  negoti 
ating  a  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  the  chiefs  and 
warriors  of  the  Shawanee  nation,  including  .  a  part  of  the 
Delawares,  at  the  mouth  of  the  big  Miami,  in  January, 
1786,  by  which  the  United  States  were  acknowledged  to  be 
the  sole  and  absolute  sovereigns  of  all  the  territory  ceded 
by  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Great  Britain_,  in  1783. 

This  treaty  was  negotiated  at  Fort  Washington,  where 
there  were,  at  the  time,  a  garrison  of  only  seventy  troops. 
All  the  Indians  in  council  appeared  peaceable,  except  three 
hundred  Shawaneese,  whose  chief  made  a  boisterous  speech, 
and  then  placed  on  the  table  his  belt  of  black  and  white 
w:impum,  to  indicate  that  he  was  prepared  for  peace  or  war. 
37 


434  APPENDIX.  [C] 

This  act  of  daring  and  defiance  of  their  chief  was  applauded 
by  the  three  hundred  Shawaneese  warriors,  by  one  of 
their  terriffic  war-whoops.  At  the  table  sat  Commissary- 
General  Clark  and  General  Richard  Butler.  Nowise  intim 
idated  by  this  war-like  demonstration,  General  Clark  with 
his  cane  coolly  pushed  the  wampum  from  the  table,  and 
then  rising,  as  the  savages  muttered  their  indignation,  he 
trampled  the  belt  under  his  feet,  and  with  a  voice  of  author 
ity  ordered  them  instantly  to  quit  the  hall.  His  boldness, 
assumed  superiority,  and  disregard  of  the  savage  threat,  had 
such  an  effect  upon  them  that  they  returned  the  next  day 
and  sued  for  peace. 

After  the  massacre  of  Wyoming,  in  1778,  he  took  com 
mand  of  a  body  of  troops  designed  to  operate  against  the 
Indians,  and  to  protect  the  frontiers  against  their  murderous 
incursions.  His  vigilance  extended  to  the  borders  along 
and  near  the  Monongahela  and  southward  to  the  Kanhawa. 
In  that  year  he  superintended  the  construction  of  Fort  Fin- 
castle,  afterwards  Fort  Henry,  for  the  protection  of  the  in 
habitants  in  the  vicinity  of  Wheeling  Creek,  as  well  as 
other  settlements  north  and  south  of  that  point,  near  the 
Ohio  River.  His  expedition  to  the  Mississippi,  in  the  same 
year,  with  the  view  of  taking  possesion  of  it  on  behalf  of 
Virginia,  was  conducted  with  so  much  skill,  judgment  and 
boldness  as  to  give  him  a  rank  amongst  the  first  military 
men  of  his  day. 

When  the  commonwealth  of  Virginia  sent  him  a  colo 
nel's  commission,  accompanied  with  a  warrant  to  raise  a 
regiment  of  volunteers,  and  for  that  purpose  to  make  con 
tracts  on  the  credit  of  the  State,  they  did  not  furnish  him 
with  funds  for  that  purpose,  but  left  him  to  procure  them 


[C]  APPENDIX.  435 

in  the  best  way  he  could,  either  on  their  credit  or  on  his 
own.  Yet  such  was  his  perseverance  and  energy,  and  so 
unbounded  was  his  confidence  in  the  honor  of  his  native 
State,  and  such  was  his  influence  with  the  people  of  the 
West,  who  knew  his  bravery  and  military  talents,  that  he 
soon  raised  a  regiment  of  hardy  Kentuckians,  whom  he 
inspired  with  his  own  spirit;  and  having  attached  them 
warmly  to  his  person,  led  them  to  the  Mississippi,  and  cap 
tured  the  posts  at  Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia.  The  inhabitants 
of  those  villages,  on  receiving  a  promise  of  protection,  took 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States. 

At  the  same  time  Governor  Hamilton  was  at  Fort  Vin- 
cennes,  making  his  arrangements  to  capture  Clark  and  his 
band  of  heroes,  which  he  expected  to  accomplish  with  but 
little  difficulty.  He  was  aware,  however,  of  Hamilton's 
purpose,  and  also  of  the  danger  of  his  own  situation,  and 
determined  to  anticipate  his  enemy.  Having  left  a  sufficient 
number  of  men  to  ensure  the  safety  of  the  conquests  he 
had  already  made,  he  proceeded  with  the  residue  by  a  forced 
march  through  swamps  and  quagmires  to  the  Wabash, 
where  he  arrived  without  the  loss  of  a  man,  though  the 
country  was  so  flooded  that  they  were  sometimes  compelled 
to  swim.  The  advance  of  the  troops  was  so  arranged  as  to 
bring  them  to  the  village  before  the  dawn  of  day,  and  before 
the  governor  was  advised  of  their  movement  from  the  Mis 
sissippi.  The  consequence  was,  the  post  was  carried  by 
storm,  and  the  governor  and  his  troops  made  prisoners  of 
war.  The  expedition  was  not  excelled  in  difficulty  and 
suffering,  or  in  daring  courage,  by  the  memorable  march  of 
Arnold  to  Quebec,  in  1775. 

General  Clark,  in  starting  on  the  enterprise  against 


436  APPENDIX.  [C] 

Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia,  embarked  with  his  regiment  at  the 
Falls,  and  descended  the  Ohio  to  some  point  not  far  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Wabash,  where  he  landed  a  part  of  his 
men ;  and,  having  ordered  the  residue  to  proceed  with  the 
boats  and  baggage  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  and  thence  to 
Kaskaskia,  proceeded  across  the  country  by  the  most  direct 
route  to  the  same  place.  When  he  arrived  in  sight  of  the 
village,  the  inhabitants  were  as  much  surprised  as  if  they 
had  seen  him  descend  from  the  clouds.  As  the  provisions 
brought  in  the  knapsacks  of  his  men  were  nearly  exhausted, 
and  many  days  must  elapse  before  the  arrival  of  his  boats, 
he  was  admonished  to  act  promptly  and  without  delay. 

For  the  purpose  of  magnifying  his  force  in  the  estima 
tion  of  the  town  and  garrison,  as  soon  as  he  came  in  sight 
he  ordered  his  men  to  march  in  such  a  circuitous  manner 
that  the  formation  of  the  intervening  ground  led  the  enemy 
to  see  and  count  them  twice  or  thrice,  without  discovering 
the  deception.  He  then  halted,  and  with  a  part  of  his  men 
and  a  flag,  advanced  to  the  fort,  and  demanded  an  immedi 
ate  surrender,  on  the  penalty  of  receiving  no  quarter  in 
case  of  a  refusal.  The  inhabitants  at  once  submitted.  The 
commandant  of  the  fort,  in  the  surprise  of  the  moment, 
followed  the  example,  and  surrendered  the  garrison  prison 
ers  of  war  without  firing  a  gun.  Having  thus  captured 
Kaskaskia,  he  proceeded  to  Cahokia,  thirty  miles  distant, 
which  surrendered  at  once. 

These  conquests  were  achieved  before  the  arrival  of  the 
boats,  and  were  immediately  made  known  to  the  British 
governor  of  Vincennes,  by  some  friend,  who  stated  at  the 
same  time,  the  diminutive  force  by  which  the  object  was 
accomplished.  The  governor  immediately  projected  a  plan 


[C]  APPENDIX.  437 

to  surprise  the  Americans,  and  re-take  the  posts.  In  the 
meantime  the  boats  arrived  with  the  residue  of  the  regi 
ment,  when  General  Clark,  leaving  a,  sufficient  number  of 
men  to  retain  the  posts  he  had  captured,  inarched  without 
loss  of  time  to  Vincennes.  Having  waded  through  mud 
and  water  for  several  days,  he  approached  the  Wabash  River, 
which  was  so  flooded  that  his  men  were  frequently  up  to  their 
arm-pits  in  water ;  yet  they  were  not  disheartened,  nor  did 
their  devotion  to  their  heroic  leader  in  the  least  degree 
abate  until  Vincennes,  its  garrison  and  governor,  were  in 
their  hands,  as  already  seen. 

General  Clark  succeeded  in  retaining  military  possession 
of  that  extensive  country  till  the  close  of  the  war  of  the 
revolution,  and  by  that  means  secured  it  to  the  United  States. 
The  fact  is  well  known  that  in  arranging  the  articles  of  the 
treaty  of  peace,  at  Paris,  the  British  commissioners  insisted 
on  the  Ohio  River  as  part  of  the  northern  boundary  of  the 
United  States,  and  that  the  Count  de  Vergennes  favored 
that  claim.  It  appears  also  from  the  diplomatic  correspond 
ence  on  that  subject,  that  the  only  tenable  ground  on  which 
the  American  commissioners  relied  to  sustain  their  claim  to 
the  lakes,  as  the  boundary,  was  the  fact  that  General 
Clark  had  conquered  the  country,  and  was  in  the  undisputed 
military  possession  of  it  at  the  time  of  the  negotiation. 
That  fact  was  affirmed  and  admitted,  and  was  the  chief 
ground  on  which  the  British  commissioners  reluctantly 
abandoned  their  pretensions. 

These,  however,  are  only  a  few  of  the  many  great  and 
valuable  services  rendered  his  country  by  this  noble-minded 
man  and  true-hearted  soldier.     And  all  this  was  accom 
plished,  too,  almost  literally  on  his  owivcredit,  and  by  his 
37* 


438  APPENDIX.  [C] 

own  unaided  enterpri&e.  Virginia  neither  sent  him  money 
nor  means  when  she  sent  him  a  commission,  with  permission 
to  raise  men  and  money  as  he  might  be  able.  The  State 
having  no  credit,  he  was  compelled  to  rely  solely  on  his  own 
efforts  to  raise  and  equip  troops,  and  to  feed  and  clothe  them 
during  the  term  of  their  service,  which  continued  to  the 
end  of  the  war.  The  task  was  a  herculean  one,  and  few 
other  men  could  have  accomplished  it.  Nothing  but  the 
most  devoted  attachment  to  the  country  could  have  prompted 
him  to  undertake  it,  and  to  persevere  as  he  did ;  and,  at  all 
events,  nothing  else  could  have  prompted  him  to  persevere 
in  his  patriotic  labors  after  the  indignities  to  which  he  was 
constantly  subjected. 

Though  holding  conclusive  evidence  of  the  authority 
upon  which  he  acted  from  the  legislature  of  Virginia,  his 
drafts  upon  that  State  in  favor  of  those  who  had  advanced 
means  to  enable  him  to  equip,  feed  and  clothe  his  troops, 
were  dishonored,  and  for  reasons,  too,  of  the  most  humilia 
ting  character ;  but  even  this  did  not  shake  his  purpose,  or 
induce  him  for  a  moment  to  relax  his  patriotic  efforts.  As 
his  difficulties  multiplied,  his  resolution  gained  strength ; 
and  when  his  credit  failed,  and  he  was  cut  off  from  every 
other  resource,  he  resolved  to  sustain  his  troops,  and  pre 
serve  his  conquests,  by  the  strong  arm  of  power. 

After  weighing  all  the  consequences  both  to  himself  and 
his  country,  he  resorted  to  force  loans,  and  by  that  hazard 
ous  expedient  accomplished  the  object  nearest  his  heart, 
which  was  the  preservation  of  his  conquests  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  He  issued  an  order,  as  commandant  of  the 
regiment,  directed  to  two  or  three  of  his  officers,  command 
ing  them  to  enter  on  the  premises  of  the  persons  designated 


[€]  APPENDIX.  439 

in  the  order,  requested  the  property  there  found,  and  re 
move  it  to  the  public  store,  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the 
troops.  An  exact  inventory  and  careful  valuation  of  the 
property  was  ordered  to  be  made,  that  the  amount  might  be 
made  good  by  the  legislature  of  Virginia.  By  this  expedi 
ent,  and  this  only,  he  was  enabled  to  maintain  the  posts  he 
had  conquered  on  the  Mississippi  and  the  Wabash  till  the 
termination  of  the  war,  and  thus  save  to  the  nation  the 
vast  territory  lying  between  the  Ohio  River  and  the  lakes. 

The  persons  whose  property  was  sold  under  this  order 
of  General  Clark,  commenced  suit  against  him,  obtained 
judgments,  and  portions  of  his  own  private  property  were 
sold  to  satisfy  these  demands  contracted  for  the  exclusive 
benefit  of  the  country.  After  the  close  of  the  war  the  leg 
islature  of  Virginia  made  an  appropriation  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  acres  of  land  lying  on  the  Ohio  River, 
opposite  to  Louisville,  for  the  use  of  the  officers  and  soldiers 
of  General  Clark's  regiment;  but  at  that  day  it  was  of  but 
very  little  value,  and  was  long  since  disposed  of  at  mere 
nominal  prices. 

Thus  it  appears  that  one  of  the  most  distinguished  and 
valuable  officers  of  the  revolution,  who  had  performed  ser 
vices  of  the  most  incalculable  importance,  was  not  only 
treated  with  cold  neglect,  but  was  subjected  to  the  payment 
of  debts  and  claims  incurred  for  the  support  of  his  troops, 
to  a  very  large  amount.  The  cruel  ingratitude  to  which  he 
was  doomed,  for  which  no  justifiable  cause  can  be  assigned, 
and  the  comparative  poverty  which  made  him  almost  a  pen 
sioner  on  the  bounty  of  his  relatives,  was  more  than  he 
could  bear. 

A  person  familiar  with  the  lives  and  character  of  the 


41:0  APPENDIX.  [C] 

military  veterans  of  Home,  in  the  days  of  her  greatest  power, 
might  readily  have  selected  this  remarkable  man  as  a  speci 
men  of  the  model  he  had  formed  of  them  in  his  own  mind. 
But  he  has  fallen  a  victim  to  his  extreme  sensibility,  and 
to  the  ingratitude  of  his  native  State,  under  whoso  banner 
he  had  fought  so  bravely,  and  with  such  eminent  success. 
But  the  time  must  come  when  the  people  of  Louisville  and 
of  his  native  State,  at  least,  will  render  the  debt  of  grati 
tude  they  owe  to  the  memory  of  this  distinguished  man, 
however  forgetful  the  nation  may  be  of  his  eminent  services. 
It  is  a  reproach  upon  the  character  of  his  native  State,  that 
she  will  not  easily  rid  herself  of;  and  never,  except  by  a 
full  and  ample  atonement  for  the  base  ingratitude  done  to 
this  most  worthy  son. 

The  above  particulars  of  the  life  of  General  Clark  are 
principally  taken  from  Burnet's  Notes  on  the  North-western 
Territory,  and  Monette's  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  With 
the  example  of  such  an  uncle  before  him,  it  is  not  very 
Btrange  that  Colonel  Croghan  should  know  how  to  fiyht. 
The  sketch,  meager  as  it  is,  compared  with  his  pre-eminent 
merits,  it  is  thought  will  be  found  interesting,  and  fully  to 
justify  general  reference  to  him.  It  is  only  to  be  regretted 
that  one  who  has  done  so  much  for  his  country  could  not 
have  found  a  biographer  worthy  his  deeds  and  his  fame. 
This  evil  should  have  been  corrected  long  since.  The  life 
of  scarcely  any  man  in  America  would  be  found  more  re 
plete  with  sterling  and  brilliant  events  than  that  of  George 
Rogers  Clark,  or  to  afford  a  brighter  example  for  the  imita 
tion  of  the  rising  generation. 


[D]  APPENDIX.  441 

GENERAL  HARRISON'S  DEATH  AND  BURIAL. 

The  following  detailed  account  of  General  Harrison's 
last  illness  and  burial  was  compiled  principally  from  the 
Washington  "  Intelligencer"  and  "  Madisonian,"  and  the 
New  York  "  Observer."  It  will  undoubtedly  possess  a 
permanent  interest  as  a  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  times, 
long  after  the  generation  in  which  the  melancholy  event  to 
which  it  refers  shall  have  passed  away.  The  general  par 
ticulars  of  his  death  have  been  elsewhere  given. 

ACCOUNT  OF  THE  PRESIDENT'S  LAST  HOURS. 

Saturday,  1  o'clock,  P.  M. — Dr.  Alexander  of  Balti 
more  has  just  visited  the  President's  chamber,  and  pro 
nounces  him  better,  giving  all  his  friends  reason  to  indulge 
in  hope.  The  good  news  spreads  all  over  the  city  with  joy 
ful  alacrity. 

2  o'clock. — The  favorable  symptoms  continue. 

3  o'clock. — The  symptoms  are  becoming  alarming ;  a 
diarrhea  is  threatened. 

Half-past  3  o'clock. — The  alarm  of  General  Harrison's 
friends  are  very  great :  the  symptoms  grow  worse,  and  his 
case  becomes  more  dangerous  than  ever.  The  medical  men 
begin  to  doubt,  if  not  to  despair,  and  to  speak  in  a  wanner 
and  tone  that  hardly  give  us  hope. 

4  o'clock. — The  news  of  increased  danger  flies  over  the 
city,  and  all  are  inquiring,  and  in  all  directions. 

5  o'clock. — The  President  wanders,  and  is  at  time?  <}[uite 
insensible.    All  his  symptoms  are  worse.     His  family  hang 
ing  in  anxiety  over  his  bedside,  his  physicians  watcki-g 


442  APPENDIX.  [D] 

every  motion.     His  diarrhea  grows  worse,  and  leaves  hardly 
a  hope,  so  rapidly  does  it  prostrate  his  strength. 

6  o'clock. — The  members  of  the  Cabinet  have  been 
summoned  to  the  President's;  Mr.  Granger  just  gave  the 
alarm  to  his  associates.  The  symptoms  all  worse.  His 
physicians  give  him  up.  The  dreadful  report  fills  all  with 
consternation.  The  danger  of  losing  the  good  and  venera 
ble  man  now  breaks  fully  upon  us  all. 

10  o' clock. — "Reports  from  the  sick  chamber  for  the  last 
four  hours  have  all  been  worse.     The  pulse  beats  feebler 
and  feebler  every  minute.     His  flesh  has  become  cold  and 
clammy.     During  this  time,  General  Harrison  has  spoken 
his  last  words,  after  which  he  fell  into  a  state  of  insensibil 
ity.     At  a  quarter  of  nine,  Dr.  Worthington  at  his  bedside, 
he  said  (and  it  is  presumed  he  was  addressing  Governor 
Tyler),-   * 

SlR, — I  WISH  YOU  TO  UNDERSTAND  THE  TRUE  PRINCI 
PLES  OP  THE  GOVERNMENT.  I  WISH  THEM  CARRIED  OUT. 
I  ASK  NOTHING  MORE. 

This  is  the  dying  injunction  of  the  good  old  man,  made, 
Dr.  Worthington  says,  in  a  strong  tone  of  voice. 

All  the  members  of  the  Cabinet,  except  Mr.  Badger, 
for  three  hours  past,  have  been  in  a  chamber  near  the  Pres 
ident's  sick  room.  Their  spirits,  of  course,  are  sadly  de 
pressed  by  this  melancholy  event,  but  they  are  preparing 
for  the  mournful  duty  that  devolves  upon  them. 

11  o'clock. — The  President  yet   lingers.     The  White 
House  has  been  thronged  by  citizens  of  all  classes,  fearfully 
inquiring  into  the  President's  health.     He  is  insensible, 
feeble  indeed,  and  no  one  now  indulges  in  hope.     All  prep 
arations  are  making  as  for  a  man  already  dead.     The  con- 


[I*]  APPENDIX.  443 

eolations  of  religion  have  all  along  been  administered.  He 
has  been  calm,  and  manifested  no  fear  of  death.  The  phy 
sicians  are  just  using  the  last  remedies  their  skill  devises, 
but  with  no  hope  of  any  favorable  result. 

12  J  o'clock. — General  Harrison  has  just  breathed  his 
last,  and  without  a  struggle.  He  has  been  insensible  for  a 
long  while,  and  the  last  words  he  spoke  were  to  Dr.  Wor- 
thington.  Most  anxious  and  deeply  affected  friends  are 
weeping  around  his  chamber.  What  a  dreadful  blow  has 
struck  the  land ! 

1  o'clock,  A.  M. — The  members  of  the  Cabinet,  after 
performing  their  last  mournful  duties  to  the  departed  Pres 
ident,  are  preparing  a  letter  to  the  Vice-President,  announc 
ing  the  fact  officially.  The  chief  clerk  of  the  State  Depart 
ment,  Fletcher  Webster,  Esq.,  is  dispatched  with  it,  and 
he  will  reach  Mr.  Tyler  by  Monday  noon,  who  will  proba 
bly  be  here  Wednesday  or  Thursday  the  latest. 


OFFICIAL  LETTER  TO  THE  VICE-PRESIDENT. 

WASHINGTON,  April  4,  1841. 

"  To  JOHN  TYLER,  Vice  President  of  the  United  States. 

a  Sir : — It  has  become  our  most  painful  duty  to  inform 
you  that  WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON,  late  President  of 
the  United  States,  has  departed  this  life. 

"  This  distressing  event  took  place  this  day,  at  the  Pres 
ident's  mansion  in  this  city,  at  thirty  minutes  before  one  in 
the  morning. 

"  We  lose  no  time  in  dispatching  the  chief  clerk  in  the 
State  Department,  as  a  special  messenger,  to  bear  you  these 
melancholy  tidings. 


444  APPENDIX.  [D] 

"  We  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  regard, 
your  obedient  servants, 

DANIEL  WEBSTER,  Sec'ry  of  State. 
THOS.  EWING,  Sec'ry  of  the  Treasury. 
JOHN  BELL,  Sec'ry  of  War. 
JOHN  J.  CRITTENDEN,  Attorney-General. 
FRANCIS  GRANGER,  Postmaster-Gen." 


ARRANGEMENTS  FOR  THE  FUNERAL. 

WASHINGTON,  April  4,  1841. 

The  circumstances  in  which  we  are  placed  by  the  death 
of  the  President  render  it  indispensable  for  us,  in  the  recess 
of  Congress  and  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President,  to 
make  arrangements  for  the  funeral  solemnities.  Having 
consulted  with  the  family  and  personal  friends  of  the  de 
ceased,  we  have  concluded  that  the  funeral  be  solemnized 
on  Wednesday,  the  7th  instant,  at  12  o'clock.  The  reli 
gious  services  to  be  performed  according  to  the  usages  of 
the  Episcopal  Church,  in  which  church  the  deceased  usually 
worshiped.  The  body  is  to  be  taken  from  the  President's 
House  to  the  Congress  Burying  Ground,  accompanied  by  a 
military  and  civic  procession,  and  deposited  in  the  receiv 
ing  tomb. 

The  military  arrangements  to  be  under  the  direction  of 
Major-General  Macomb,  the  General  Commanding  in  Chief 
of  the  Army  of  the  United  States,  and  Major-General  Wal 
ter  Jones,  of  the  Militia  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Commodore  Morris,  the  Senior  Captain  in  the  Navy 
now  in  the  city,  to  have  the  direction  of  the  naval  arrange 
ments. 


[D]  APPENDIX.  445 

The  Marshal  of  the  District  to  have  the  direction  of  the 
civic  procession,  assisted  by  the  Mayors  of  Washington, 
Georgetown,  and  Alexandria,  the  Clerk  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  and  such  other  citizens  as  they 
may  see  fit  to  call  to  their  aid. 

John  Quincy  Adams,  ex-President  of  the  United  States, 
Members  of  Congress  now  in  the  city  or  its  neighborhood, 
all  the  members  of  the  Diplomatic  body  resident  in  Wash 
ington,  all  officers  of  government,  and  citizens  generally, 
are  invited  to  attend. 

And  it  is  respectfully  recommended  to  the  officers  of 
government  that  they  wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourning. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER,  Sec'ry  of  State 

THOS.  EWING,  Sec'ry  of  the  Treasury. 

JOHN  BELL,  Sec'ry  of  War. 

JOHN  J.  CRITTENDEN,  Attorney-General. 

FRANCIS  GRANGER,  Postmaster-General. 

ARRIVAL  OF  THE  VICE-PRESIDENT. 

At  12  o'clock,  all  the  Heads  of  Departments,  except  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  (who  has  not  yet  returned  to  the 
city,  from  his  visit  to  his  family),  waited  upon  the  Vice- 
President  to  pay  him  their  official  and  personal  respects. 
They  were  received  with  all  the  politeness  and  kindness 
which  characterized  the  new  President.  He  signified  his 
deep  feeling  of  the  public  calamity  sustained  by  the  death 
of  President  HARRISON,  and  expressed  his  profound  sensi 
bility  of  the  heavy  responsibilities  so  suddenly  devolved 
upon  himself.  He  spoke  of  the  present  state  of  things 
with  great  concern  and  seriousness,  and  made  known  his 
wish ea  that  the  several  Heads  of  Departments  would  con- 
38 


446  APPENDIX.  [D] 

tinue  to  fill  the  places  which  they  now  respectively  occupy, 
and  his  confidence  that  they  would  afford  all  the  aid  in  their 
power  to  enable  him  to  carry  on  the  administration  of  the 
government  successfully. 

The  PRESIDENT  then  took  and  subscribed  the  following 
oath  of  office : 

I  do  solemnly  swear  that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will,  to  the 
best  of  my  ability,  preserve,  protect  and  defend,  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States.  JOHN  TYLER. 

April  6,  1841. 

DISTRICT  OP  COLUMBIA,  ) 

City  and  County  of  "Washington,    \ 

I,  William  Cranch,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Circuit  Court 
of  the  District  of  Columbia,  certify  that  the  above-named 
JOHN  TYLER  personally  appeared  before  me  this  day,  and, 
although  he  deems  himself  qualified  to  perform  the  duties 
and  exercise  the  powers  and  office  of  the  President  on  the 
death  of  WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON,  late  President  of 
the  United  States,  without  any  other  oath  than  that  which 
he  has  taken  as  Vice-President,  yet,  as  doubts  may  arise, 
and  for  greater  caution,  took  and  subscribed  the  foregoing 
oath  before  me.  W.  CRANCH. 

April  6,  1841. 

FUNERAL  CEREMONIES. 

It  was  not  until  Wednesday,  that  the  full  force  of  the 
bereavement  was  felt  by  the  public  mind,  when  to  all  who 
about  five  weeks  before  had  witnessed  the  spectacle  of  the 
inauguration,  there  was  now  presented  the  very  different 
spectacle  of  a  funeral — and  the  funeral  of  that  very  inaug- 


[B]  APPENDIX.  447 

urated  Chief  Magistrate.  The  day  itself — the  clouds  cov 
ering  the  heavens — resembled  the  Fourth  of  March.  The 
numerous  flags  at  half-mast,  and  hung  with  crape,  met  the 
eye  wherever  it  was  turned ;  while  the  ear  was  saluted  with 
the  deep  thunder  of  heavy  cannon,  as  at  short  intervals  the 
melancholy  sound  came  through  the  air.  The  stream  of 
human  beings  continued  to  pour  into  the  city  from  all  quar 
ters  until  12  o'clock,  and  although  it  was  supposed  all  the 
States  of  the  Union  sent  the  materials  that  constituted  the 
host  at  the  Inauguration,  there  seemed  really  to  be  as  many 
to-day  in  the  city  as  on  the  Fourth  of  March. 

At  sunrise  the  sound  of  cannon  from  the  several  mili 
tary  stations  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city  heralded  the  melan 
choly  occasion  which  was  to  assemble  the  citizens  of  the 
district  and  its  neighborhood,  and  minute  guns  were  fired 
during  the  morning.  In  entire  consonance  with  those 
mournful  sounds  was  the  aspect  of  the  whole  city,  as  weB 
its  dwellings  as  its  population.  The  buildings  on  each  side 
of  the  entire  length  of  the  Pennsylvania  avenue,  with 
scarcely  an  exception,  and  many  houses  on  the  contiguous 
streets,  were  hung  with  festoon  and  streamers  of  black, 
not  only  about  the  signs  and  entrances,  but  in  many  cases 
from  all  the  upper  stories.  Almost  every  private  dwelling 
had  crape  upon  the  knocker  and  bell-handle  of  its  door,  and 
many  of  the  very  humblest  abodes  hung  out  some  sponta 
neous  signal  of  the  general  sorrow.  The  stores  and  places 
of  business,  even  such  as  are  too  frequently  seen  open  on 
the  Sabbath,  were  all  closed.  Everything  like  business 
seemed  to  have  been  forgotten,  and  all  minds  to  be  occupied 
with  the  purpose  of  the  day.  The  great  point  of  attraction 
was  the  President's  Mansion.  Toward  that,  all  steps,  all 


448  APPENDIX.  [D] 

thoughts  were  tending.  The  northern  portico  of  the  Man 
sion  was  hung  with  long  banners  of  black,  extending  from 
column  to  column.  The  iron  gates  of  the  enclosure  in  front 
were  closed,  save  when  the  Foreign  Ministers,  Members  of 
the  Cabinet,  the  attending  Physicians,  the  Clergy,  the  Judi 
ciary  and  ladies,  were  admitted,  preparatory  to  their  taking 
the  places  assigned  them  in  the  funeral  procession. 

At  the  entrance  of  the  Mansion,  the  dressings  of  black 
presented  themselves  on  every  side,  descending  from  the 
lofty  ceiling  to  the  floor.  The  great  chandelier,  with  the 
immense  mirrors  of  the  east  room,  and  other  articles  of 
furniture,  were  enveloped  in  the  sable  symbols ;  while  in 
the  centre  of  the  room  reposed  the  illustrious  dead — the 
body  being  contained  in  a  coffin  covered  with  rich  silk  vel 
vet,  over  which  was  thrown  the  pall  of  similar  material. 
Under  the  lid  of  the  coffin  was  a  glass,  through  which  could 
be  seen  the  face  of  the  late  President.  The  expression  was 
calm  and  natural :  his  white  hair  lying  close  to  his  head,  and 
his  features  regular  and  peaceful,  as  if  they  had  been  quietly 
composed  to  their  last  long  sleep.  It  was  impossible  to  es 
cape  contrasting  this  moveless  repose  of  death  with  the 
incessant  activity  of  the  living  individual,  when  receiving 
the  visits  of  the  people,  or  transacting  business  with  those 
who  called.  What  little  of  form  or  ceremony  remained 
about  the  Government  was  extinguished  by  the  late  Presi 
dent. 

The  first  semi-circle  around  the  coffin  was  composed  of 
about  forty  clergymen  of  different  denominations  in  and 
near  the  district.  Opposite  to  these,  encircling  the  head 
of  the  coffin,  sat  the  Vice-President  and  the  Cabinet,  except 
Mr.  Badger,  who  had  gone  to  North  Carolina.  On  the 


[I>]  APPENDIX.  449 

left  of  the  Cabinet  were  Messrs.  Forsyth,  Poinsett  and 
Paulding,  also  Mr.  Adams.  In  their  rear  sat  the  Foreign 
Ministers,  in  their  gorgeous  dresses  of  gold  and  silver  lace, 
stars,  epaulets  and  other  insignia  peculiar  to  monarchical 
governments,  and  strongly  contrasting  with  the  severe  sim 
plicity  of  all  around,  especially  the  simplicity  of  death. 
Immediately  behind  the  clergy  were  the  mourners,  about 
fifteen  or  twenty  in  number,  including  the  "  faithful  women,"" 
who  "  did  what  they  could"  to  minister  to  the  last  wants  of 
their  departed  relative  and  friend.  The  next  semi-circle  was 
composed  of  the  attending  and  consulting  physicians,  and 
the  twenty-four  pall-bearers,  all  with  white  sashes.  Officers 
of  the  government  of  various  grades,  ladies  and  others,  who 
had  the  privilege  of  admission,  filled  the  room,  which  was 
not  crowded,  the  thousands  of  the  people  being  outside  even 
the  gates  of  the  great  front  lawn,  and  maintaining  the  most 
profound  stillness  and  exemplary  order.  In  fact,  the  pop 
ulation  had,  as  if  by  common  consent,  extended  itself  in 
very  equal  masses  along  the  whole  distance  of  a  mile  and 
a  half  from  the  Mansion  to  the  Capitol.  The  passage-way 
within  the  spacious  front  lawn  was  filled  with  mourning- 
coaches,  in  waiting  for  the  Family  Mourners,  the  Cabinet, 
the  Clergy,  Members  of  Congress,  Foreign  Ministers,  &c. 

At  half-past  11  o'clock,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hawley,  Rector 
of  St.  John's  Church,  arose,  and  observed  that  he  would 
mention  an  incident  connected  w^ith  the  Bible  which  lay  on 
the  table  before  him  (covered  with  black  silk  velvet). 
"  This  Bible,"  said  he,  "  was  purchased  by  the  President 
on  the  5th  of  March.  He  has  since  been  in  the  habit  of 
daily  reading  it.  He  was  accustomed  not  only  to  attend 
church,  but  to  join  audibly  in  the  church  service,  and  to 
38* 


450  APPENDIX.  [D] 

kneel  before  his  Maker."  Mr.  H.  stated  that  had  the 
President  lived,  and  been  in  health,  he  intended  on  the 
next  Sabbath  to  become  a  communicant  at  the  Lord's  table. 
A  part  of  the  15th  of  1st  Corinthians  was  then  read, 
some  selections  from  the  Psalms,  and  a  short  prayer.  No 
address  or  particular  appeal  was  made  to  the  assembly  or  to 
any  portion  of  it. 

It  was  after  11  o'clock,  when  the  procession  in  front  of 
the  Presidential  Mansion  presented  a  complete  line,  and  a 
few  minutes  before  twelve,  a  funeral  car  entered  the  square, 
and  drew  up  within  the  portico.  It  was  of  large  dimen 
sions,  in  form  an  oblong  platform,  on  which  was  a  raised 
dais,  the  whole  covered  with  black  velvet.  From  the  cor 
nice  of  the  platform  fell  a  black  velvet  curtain  outside  of 
the  wheels  to  within  a  few  inches  of  the  ground.  From  the 
corners  of  the  car  a  black  crape  festoon  was  formed  on  all 
sides,  looped  in  the  centre  by  a  funeral  wreath. 

Precisely  at  12  o'clock,  a  detachment  of  musicians, 
which  had  been  marched  up  in  front  of  the  portico,  played 
the  Portuguese  hymn,  during  which  the  body  was  moved, 
and  placed  on  the  car.  The  coffin  was  covered  with  a  rich 
velvet,  on  which  were  placed  two  swords,  laid  across  (the 
Sword  of  Justice  and  the  Sword  of  State),  surmounted  by 
the  scroll  of  the  Constitution,  bound  together  by  a  funeral 
wreath  formed  of  the  yew  and  cypress.  The  car  was  drawn 
by  six  white  horses,  having  at  the  head  of  each  a  colored 
groom,  dressed  in  white,  with  white  turban  and  sash,  and 
supported  by  pall-bearers  in  black.  The  effect  was  very 
fine.  The  contrast  of  this  slowly  moving  body  of  white 
a i.d  black,  so  opposite  to  the  strong  colors  of  the  military 
ai-^uud  it,  struck  the  eye  even  from  the  greatest  distance, 


[D]  APPENDIX.  451 

and  gave  a  chilling  warning  beforehand  that  the  corpse  was 
drawing  nigh. 

The  most  impressive  portion  of  the  military  part  of  the 
procession  consisted  of  the  dismounted  and  mounted  officers 
of  the  Army,  Navy,  Militia,  and  Volunteers.  Seldom  has 
there  been  exhibited  within  a  space  so  limited  so  many  dis 
tinguished  military  men,  the  sight  of  whose  well-known 
figures  led  back  our  thoughts  to  many  a  bloody  field,  and 
many  an  ensanguined  sea,  on  which  the  national  honor  has 
been  well  and  nobly  maintained. 

Next  to  the  military  were  the  clergy  of  the  district  and 
elsewhere,  (dressed  with  scarfs,  and  with  crape  on  the  hat 
and  left  arm),  about  forty  in  number,  in  carriages. 

Then  followed  the  attending  physicians,  in  their  private 
vehicles. 

Immediately  behind  the  hearse  were  the  male  relatives 
of  the  deceased,  including  his  old  and  faithful  friends,  Col 
onels  Todd  and  Chambers. 

Immediately  after  them  President  Tyler,  in  a  carriage 
with  the  Secretary  of  State ;  then  the  several  other  Heads 
of  Departments,  and  Mr.  J.  Q.  Adams.  Several  members 
of  the  Judiciary  Department  followed,  and  then  all  the 
Ministers  of  Foreign  Governments,  now  present,  or  their 
Secretaries. 

Next  followed  officers  and  soldiers  who  had  served  under 
General  Harrison  in  the  late  war.  Another  division  of  the 
procession  consisted  of  public  societies  and  associations 
preceded  by  their  banners,  and  wearing  their  respective 
badges. 

On  the  firing  of  the  signal  gun  at  the  appointed  hour, 
the  procession  moved  along  Pennsylvania  avenue,  under  the 


452  APPENDIX.  [D] 

fire  of  minute  guns  near  the  President's  House,  repeated  at 
the  City  Hall,  on  the  head  of  the  column  arriving  opposite 
to  it,  and  at  the  Capitol  on  its  reaching  the  western  gate 
of  the  enclosure.  The  music  was  excellent;  several  fine 
bands  playing  mournful  airs,  giving  place,  from  time  to 
time,  to  the  muffled  drums  of  the  military,  beating  slow 
marches. 

The  solemnity  of  the  scene  was  beyond  description. 

Among  the  most  touching  incidents  which  occurred  du 
ring  the  procession  was  its  meeting  the  Maryland  Legisla 
ture  about  half-way  down  the  avenue.  Having  just  arrived 
in  the  cars,  the  members,  preceded  by  their  officers,  marched 
on  to  meet  the  funeral  train  of  the  President,  and  were 
immediately  assigned  their  proper  and  honorable  rank  in 
the  multitude  of  public  mourners. 

Having  reached  the  Capitol  Square,  passing  on  the 
south  side  of  it,  the  procession  advanced  over  the  plains 
eastward  till  it  reached  the  space  in  front  of  the  Congres 
sional  Burying  Ground. 

Here  the  car  halted,  while  the  line  was  formed  by  the 
military;  and  then  passed  slowly  on,  being  saluted  as  it 
passed  with  a  dirge,  with  colors  lowered,  the  troops  present 
ing  arms,  and  the  officers  saluting  it  in  military  form. 
Having  reached  the  principal  entrance,  the  car  was  again 
halted ;  the  coffin  was  taken  down  and  placed  on  the  should 
ers  of  the  bearers ;  the  clergy  advanced,  and  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Hawley,  reciting  the  solemn  funeral  service  of  the  Episco 
pal  Liturgy,  the  procession  advanced  down  the  principal 
avenue  of  the  cemetery  until  it  reached  the  receiving  vault, 
where  a  space  had  been  kept  open  by  sentries  under  arms, 
and  where  a  hollow  square  being  formed,  the  coffiu  was 


[D]  APPENDIX.  453 

lowered  in  the  public  vault,  which  was  hung  with  festoons 
of  black  crape  and  muslin.  It  is  a  spacious  arched  apart 
ment  at  the  extremity  of  the  ground,  perfectly  dry.  There 
were  about  eight  coffins  in  it  before  that  of  General  Harri 
son  was  received  into  it.  In  the  centre  of  this  vault,  a 
mahogany  shell  had  been  placed,  and  into  this  shell  the 
coffin  was  fitted,  and  the  lid  was  then  placed  upon  it,  when, 
in  an  interval  of  "  expressive  silence,"  the  coffin  was  con 
veyed  down  into  the  tomb,  and  all  that  remained  on  earth 
of  the  President  of  this  great  Union  was  laid  in  its  narrow 
bed ;  near  the  other  coffins  almost  unnoticed,  and  altogether 
unknown  to  us,  how  did  all  earthly  grandeur  dwindle  to  its 
real  insignificance,  and  how  impressively  did  the  tomb  teach 
it  in  that  hour  !  The  immortality  of  Fame  !  How  did  the 
bubble  burst  in  the  atmosphere  of  that  house  of  death ! 
And  when  I  saw  TYLER,  WEBSTER,  EWING,  BELL,  CRIT- 
TENDEN  and  GRANGER  enter  that  house,  to  take  their  last 
view  of  the  coffin,  and  to  emerge  again  with  the  weight  of  a 
nation's  cares,  added  to  present  affliction  upon  them  who 
could  help  exclaiming  :  "  What  shadows  we  are,  what  shad 
ows  we  pursue  !"  Among  the  last  things  which  I  observed 
were  the  tears  of  his  old  comrades  in  arms  on  many  a  hard- 
fought  field,  as  they  ascended  out  of  the  vault,  and  left 
their  brave  and  beloved  General  in  the  embrace  of  the 
Universal  Conqueror,  adding  another  trophy  to  the  tri 
umphs  of  Death,  and  another  portion  to  the  spoils  of  the 
Grave. 

A  signal  being  given  to  the  troops  outside,  the  battalion 
of  Light  Artillery,  who  were  placed  on  an  adjoining  emi 
nence,  fired  a  salute,  which  was  immediately  followed  by 
the  several  military  bodies  in  line,  who  commenced  firing 


454  APPENDIX.  [D] 

from  the  left  to  the  right,  and  had  continued  the  salute  till 
it  had  thrice  gone  up  the  whole  line. 

The  Vice-President  appeared  to  be  much  affected.  Mr. 
Ewing,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  was,  at  times,  almost 
unmanned  by  the  excess  of  his  grief.  Mr.  Webster,  Mr. 
Bell,  Mr.  Granger,  and  Mr.  Crittenden  evinced  by  their 
deportment  that  they  felt  their  loss. 

The  entire  procession  occupied  two  full  miles  in  length, 
and  was  marshaled  on  its  way  by  officers  on  horseback  car 
rying  white  batons  with  black  tassels.  The  utmost  order 
prevailed  throughout ;  and,  considering  the  very  great  con 
course  of  people  collected,  the  silence  preserved  during  the 
whole  course  of  the  march  was  very  impressive. 

The  procession  returned  by  the  same  route  to  the  city, 
where  the  troops  were  dismissed,  and  the  citizens  retired  to 
their  several  abodes.  By  five  o'clock,  nothing  remained 
but  empty  streets  and  the  emblems  of  mourning  upon  the 
houses,  and  the  still  deeper  gloom,  which  oppressed  the 
general  mind  with  renewed  power  after  all  was  over,  and 
the  sense  of  the  public  bereavement  alone  was  left  to  fill 
the  thoughts. 

It  was  the  universal  impression,  that  the  procession  was 
larger,  and  the  whole  effect  more  imposing,  than  that  of  the 
pageant  of  the  Inauguration.  In  regard  to  solemnity,  the 
two  occasions  of  course  admit  of  no  comparison.  The  one 
was  a  nation  in  joy ;  the  other  a  nation  in  tears. 

REFLECTIONS  IN  THE  EAST  ROOM— April  7,  1841. 

The  great  East  Room  of  the  President's  House, — that 
room  in  which  I  have  seen  a  thousand  gay  and  joyful  faces 
glowing  in  the  light  of  ponderous  chandeliers,  radiating  the 


[D]  APPENDIX.  455 

light  of  a  hundred  burners, — was  now  the  scene  of  death  ! 
Those  brilliant  fountains  of  light  were  hid  in  the  dark  robes 
of  mourning.  The  splendid  mirrors,  which  rose  almost  to 
the  lofty  ceiling,  reflecting  on  every  side  the  brilliant  crowds 
which  often  thronged  this  room,  now  refused  to  look  upon 
the  scene  before  them,  and  buried  their  polished  bosoms  in 
the  habiliments  of  sadness.  In  short,  this  magnificent 
room,  in  every  part  of  it,  spoke  in  the  appropriate  language 
of  silent  grief,  announcing  to  all — Death  is  here  ! 

The  coffin  rested  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  and  was 
richly  and  beautifully  dressed.  Closely  attached  to  it  was 
a  covering  of  black  velvet.  The  edges  where  the  top  rested 
were  delicately  traced  with  fine  gold  lace,  and  on  either  side 
and  at  each  end  of  the  coffin  the  same  material  was  formed 
into  beautiful  squares.  A  gorgeous  velvet  pall  hung  grace 
fully  over  the  whole,  with  a  deep  rich  fringe  appended  to  a 
border  of  gold  lace.  On  the  top  of  all  rested  two  elegantly 
wrought  swords  in  mourning,  buried  in  a  profusion  of  lovely, 
and  fragrant  flowers,  which  Flora  had  consecrated  to  this 
sad  and  melancholy  service,  as  if  to  express  the  idea  that 
sweetness  and  beauty  could  conquer  the  sword  and  survive 
death  itself ! 

Around  the  coffin,  and  at  an  appropriate  distance,  was 
formed  a  circle  composed  of  the  new  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  heads  of  departments,  the  clergy  of 
every  denomination,  judges  of  courts,  and  members  of  the 
bar.  The  next  circle  contained  the  foreign  ministers  in 
their  rich  and  varied  court  dresses,  with  a  number  of  mem 
bers  of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  and  the  relatives  of  the 
deceased  President.  Beyond  this  circle  a  vast  assemblage 
of  ladies  and  gentlemen  filled  up  the  room.  Silence,  deep 


456  APPENDIX.  [D] 

and  undisturbed,  even  by  a  whisper,  pervaded  the  entire 
assembly.  The  solemn  event  which  they  were  now  gazing 
upon  fixed  every  eye  and  hushed  every  tongue.  When,  at 
the  appointed  hour,  the  officiating  minister  rose  from  his 
seat,  and  as  he  rose  in  solemn  tones  announced  these  words, 
"  /  am  the  resurrection,  and  the  life  !"  one  simultaneous 
move  placed  this  vast  assemblage  upon  their  feet  on  the  first 
sound  of  the  ministers  voice,  and  a  feeling  of  deeper  awe 
rested  upon  every  countenance,  as  he  uttered  the  above  sen 
tence.  Never  before  did  I  realize  the  grandeur  and  sub 
limity  of  these  words — never  before  did  I  feel  the  thrilling 
effect  which  the  enunciation  of  this  glorious  Christian  truth 
is  capable  of  inspiring. 

At  the  close  of  these  religious  ceremonies,  the  coffin  was 
conducted  to  the  funeral  car  specially  constructed  for  the 
occasion,  where  it  was  met  and  saluted  by  the  solemn  dirge 
of  appropriate  music ;  and  the  procession  moved  off  under 
the  discharge  of  funeral  artillery,  which  uttered  loud  and 
long  the  nation's  grief. 

THE  MOURNFUL   INTELLIGENCE. 

As  the  news  of  the  decease  of  the  venerable  President  of 
this  republic  spread  from  city  to  city,  there  was  every  dem 
onstration  of  the  deep  grief  which  the  nation  feels,  at  the 
removal  by  death,  of  the  chief  officer  of  the  republic.  In 
the  smaller  towns  on  the  route  of  the  mail  hither,  the  per 
sons  always  waiting  at  the  railroad  depots,  heard  the  intel 
ligence  in  silence,  and  turned  away  to  communicate  it  to 
their  friends,  in  that  suppressed  tone  which  is  the  indica 
tion  of  true  feeling. 

In  Baltimore,  on  Sunday,  the  bells  of  the  city  .^ere 


[D]  APPENDIX.  457 

tolled  throughout  the  day,  and  the  flags  from  various  edi 
fices  floated  at  half  mast,  trimmed  with  the  "  insignia  of 
woe."  In  several  of  the  churches,  the  ministers  took  ad 
vantage  of  the  occasion,  and  made  most  impressive  and  af 
fecting  allusions  to  the  national  bereavement,  in  the  decease 
of  the  President. 

In  Philadelphia,  the  slip  signed  by  all  the  heads  of  the 
department,  announcing  the  fact,  was  read  at  the  Exchange 
to  about  500  persons,  all  of  whom  evinced  much  feeling, 
and  without  uttering  a  word  left  the  room.  In  less  than 
two  minutes  after  the  announcement  not  three  persons  of 
the  dense  crowd  that  had  so  lately  filled  the  apartment  were 
to  be  seen. 

The  news  was  received  in  New  York  a  little  before  mid 
night,  by  the  evening  train.  At  that  hour,  on  account  of 
the  storm  with  which  the  afternoon  closed,  few  persons  were 
stirring,  but  as  the  intelligence  was  announced  by  the  pas 
sengers,  it  was  received  with  the  same  demonstrations  of 
grief  and  respect  for  the  deceased,  which  had  marked  its 
reception  in  other  cities.  The  news  was  circulated  through 
a  large  part  of  the  city ;  but  still  could  not  be  said  to  be 
generally  circulated,  until  the  appearance  of  the  morning 
papers,  dressed  in  the  proper  marks  of  mourning. 

New  York  is  emphatically  a  reading  city.  The  propor 
tion  of  houses  at  which  a  morning  paper  is  served  in  the  city 
is  probably  as  eight  to  ten,  if  not  larger.  Consequently 
almost  the  first  thing  that  met  every  man's  eye  was  the 
indication  of  the  national  loss,  in  the  turned  rules,  and 
funeral  appearance  of  the  newspapers,  which,  with  one  ex 
ception  only,  paid  this  mark  of  respect  for  the  deceased. 
Made  in  a  manner  so  striking,  the  announcement  could  es- 
89 


458  APPENDIX.  [D] 

cape  no  one,  and  men  walked  abroad  to  their  daily  avoca 
tions,  with  faces  which  betrayed  what  every  honest  man's 
heart  felt.  Our  daily  avocations  make  us  among  the  ear 
liest  of  early  risers,  and  had  we  been,  by  any  chance,  unap- 
prised  of  the  intelligence,  we  could  have  rea4  in  the  faces 
of  those  whom  we  met,  the  unanimous  declaration  that  some 
grief,  for  the  general  weal,  oppressed  our  fellow-citizens. 

The  method  of  striking  fire  alarms  in  this  city  prevents 
the  use  of  the  bells  to  toll  an  unexpected  announcement. 
None  were  therefore  struck,  but  at  the  usual  hour  of  hoist 
ing  flags,  the  city  standard,  and  the  national  ensign  were 
displayed  at  half  mast  upon  the  City  Hall.  All  the  prin 
cipal  hotels,  the  political  head  quarters  of  both  parties,  and 
the  other  public  buildings  upon  which  flags  are  usually 
hoisted  on  public  occasions,  displayed  them  yesterday  at 
half  mast ;  and  the  shipping  at  the  piers  and  in  the  harbor 
wore  the  same  testimonials  of  national  grief.  We  never 
felt  before  so  proud  of  our  citizenship,  as  we  did  in  exchang 
ing  remarks  of  sincere  condolence  with  our  friends  of  the 
opposition  party,  who  thus  testified  that  love  of  country  is 
superior  in  American  hearts  to  devotion  to  party. 

The  courts  met  only  to  adjourn ;  and  the  Common 
Council  was  convened  to  take  measures  for  testifying  the 
public  sympathy  and  respect. 

All  the  flags  in  Albany  were  displayed  at  half  mast ; 
the  Supreme  Court  and  Court  of  Chancery  adjourned,  and 
an  extraordinary  meeting  of  the  Common  Council  was  con 
vened  at  12  o'clock. 

The  Governor  of  the  State  sent  a  message  to  the  legis 
lature,  which  immediately  adjourned  after  appointing  com 
mittees  of  arrangements. 


£l>]  APPENDIX.  459 

At  Hartford,  and  at  all  other  places,  reached  by  steam 
boat  hence,  the  news  was  divined  by  the  half-mast  flag,  be 
fore  a  word  was  spoken ;  and  many  citizens  turned  away 
without  asking  or  waiting  to  hear  one  word.  There  was 
agony  in  that  telegraphic  sermon. 

At  Boston,  the  news  of  the  death  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States  was  received  on  Tuesday  morning.  The 
shipping  at  the  wharves  hoisted  their  colors  at  half  mast, 
and  the  Revenue  Cutter  Hamilton,  Captain  Sturgis,  at  an 
chor  in  the  harbor,  fired  minute  guns  for  an  hour.  This 
was  done  in  compliance  with  the  recommendation  and  in 
structions  of  the  Collector  of  that  Port.  The  conrts  ad 
journed,  and  the  Common  Council  was  convened  to  take 
proper  measures  for  a  municipal  observance  of  the  occasion. 

In  every  place,  indeed,  throughout  the  land,  the  intelli 
gence  was  received  with  mourning,  dismay  and  solemnity. 
No  event  that  has  ever  occurred  since  the  death  of  Washing 
ton  has  ever  filled  the  nation  with  such  sincere  and  univer 
sal  grief. 

FUNERAL  CEREMONIES  ELSEWHERE. 

In  addition  to  the  ceremonies  at  Washington,  there 
was,  on  the  day  and  during  the  hours  of  the  funeral  obse 
quies,  a  cessation  of  business,  with  other  demonstrations  of 
solemnity,  in  the  great  cities  of  Baltimore,  Philadelphia, 
New  York  and  Boston. 

After  due  arrangements  had  been  made,  during  the 
same  or  the  following  week,  the  afflicting  dispensation 
was  further  solemnized  by  the  delivery  of  addresses  and 
large  funeral  processions  in  all  the  principal  cities  and  many 
other  places.  The  procession  in  New  YorJc  occupied  a 


460  APPENDIX.  [D] 

space  of  four  miles,  and  was  many  hours  in  passing,  with 
its  large  concourse  and  funeral  tread.  In  Albany  there  was 
a  torch-light  procession.  The  procession  was  accompanied 
by  a  full  band  of  music,  and  the  funeral  urn,  covered  with 
its  pall — the  whole  illuminated  by  the  light  of  upwards  of 
600  torches.  It  passed  through  the  principal  streets  of  the 
city  between  8  and  10  o'clock.  The  night  was  still,  and 
very  dark ;  and  the  effect  produced  by  the  long  array  of 
mourners  at  that  unusual  hour, — the  funeral  emblems,  the 
solemn  music,  and  the  strong  red  glare  of  the  torches,  re 
vealing  from  the  gloom  and  lighting  up  with  picturesque 
effect  the  houses  and  crowds  of  spectators  which  thronged 
the  windows  as  they  passed, — left  an  impression  which  will 
not  soon  be  effaced  from  the  memory  of  those  who  beheld 
the  scene. 

Accounts  are  still  coming  in  from  every  quarter  of  the 
very  many  public  testimonies  of  the  grief  of  the  people,  for 
the  loss  of  their  venerable  and  beloved  Chief  Magistrate. 

GENERAL  HARRISON'S  FAMILY. 

1.  The  following  relatives  of  Gen.  HARRISON  were  pres 
ent  in  the  city  on  the  day  of  the  funeral,  viz  : 

Mrs.  Jane  Harrison,  of  Ohio  (son's  widow),  and  two  sons. 

Mrs.  Taylor,  of  Virginia  (niece),  a  daughter  and  two 
'sons. 

Pike  Harrison  (grand-son),  son  of  J".  0.  Harrison,  and 
grand-son  of  Gen.  Pike. 

Mr.  D.  0.  Coupeland,  of  Ohio  (nephew). 

Mr.  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Berkley  (nephew). 

Henry  Harrison  (grand-nephew),  son  of  the  preceding, 
who  has  acted  as  confidential  secretary  of  the  President. 


[D]  APPENDIX.  461 

Dr.  John  Hinge,  of  Charles  City,  Va  (nephew). 
'  We  may  also  add  the  name  of  Mrs.  Findley,  of  Ohio, 
who  adopted  Mrs.  Jane  Harrison  as  a  daughter,  and  who 
almost  invariably  occupied  the  right  hand  of  the  President 
at  his  table. 

2.  The  following  are  the  surviving  relatives  who  were 
absent : 

Mrs.  Harrison,  the  General's  bereaved  widow. 

John  Scott  Harrison,  the  only  living  son. 

Mrs.  Judge  Short,  eldest  daughter. 

Mrs.  Dr.  Thornton,  daughter. 

Mrs.  Taylor,  daughter.  All  these  are  living  at  or  near 
North  Bend. 

Mr.  Taylor  and  his  wife  and  family  were  expected  to 
become  members  of  the  President's  family,  for  the  whole 
term  of  his  service. 

3.  The  following  are  the  names  of  the  deceased  mem 
bers  of  the  family  : 

Lucy  Harrison,  a  daughter,  married  Judge  Este. 

J.  G.  S.  Harrison,  a  son,  married  Miss  Pike.  Both 
dead. 

Wm.  H.  Harrison,  Jr.,  married  Miss  Jane  Irvine.  His 
widow  presided  at  the  President's  table,  and  her  personal 
graces  have  commended  her  to  the  affections  of  all  who  have 
had  the  pleasure  to  know  her. 

Dr.  Benjamin  Harrison,  a  son.     Died  the  last  summer. 

flarter  B.  Harrison,  who  was  a  lawyer  of  fine  talents, 
an<£  accompanied  General  Harrison  to  Colombia.  Died  two 
years  ago.  All  the  sons  left  children. 

Mrs.  Harrison,  the  President's  widow,  has  been  for 
many  years  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  The 
39* 


462  APPENDIX.  [D] 

rest  of  the  family  are  also  Presbyterians,  except  Mr.  Ben 
jamin  Harrison,  who  is  an  Episcopalian,  and  Mrs.  Taylor, 
of  Richmond,  who  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church. 


GENERAL  HARRISON  DEAD. 

BY   ANN    8.    STEPHENS. 

Death  sitteth  in  the  Capitol !     His  sable  wing 
Flung  its  black  shadow  o'er  a  country's  hope, 
And  lo  !  a  nation  bendeth  down  in  tears. 
A  few  short  weeks  and  all  was  jubilee, — 
The  air  was  musical  with  happy  sounds — 
The  future  full  of  promise — joyous  smiles 
Beam'd  on  each  freeman's  face  and  lighted  up 
The  gentle  eye  of  beauty. 
The  Hero  came — a  noble  good  old  man — 
Strong  in  the  wealth  of  his  high  purposes. 
Age  sat  upon  him  with  a  gentle  grace, 
Giving  unto  his  manhood  dignity, 
Imbuing  it  with  pure  and  lofty  thoughts 
As  pictures  owe  their  mellow  hues  to  time. 
He  stood  before  the  people.     Their's  had  been 
The  vigor  of  his  youth  his  manhood's  strength, 
And  now  his  green  old  age  was  yielded  up 
To  answer  their  behest. 

Thousands  had  gathered  round  the  marble  dome 
Silent  and  motionless  in  their  deep  reverence, 
Save  when  they  gushed  the  heaving  throb 
And  low  tumultuous  breath  of  patriot  hearts 
Surcharg'd  with  grateful  joy.     The  mighty  dead 
Bent  gently  o'er  him  with  their  spirit  wings, 


[D]  APPENDIX.  463 

As  solemnly  he  took  the  earthly  state 

Which  flung  its  purple  o'er  his  path  to  Heaven. 

The  oath  was  said,  and  then  one  mighty  pulse 

Seem'd  throbbing  through  the  multitude — 

Faces  were  lifted  upward,  and  a  prayer 

Of  deep  thanksgiving  wing'd  that  vow  to  Heaven. 

Time  slept  on  flowers  and  lent  his  Glass  to  Hope — 

One  little  month  his  golden  sands  had  sped 

When,  mingling  with  the  music  of  our  joy, 

Arose  and  swelled  a  low  funeral  strain, 

So  sad  and  mournful,  that  a  nation  heard 

And  trembled  as  she  wept. 

Darkness  is  o'er  the  land, 
For  lo !  a  death  flag  streams  upon  the  breeze,-— 
The  Hero  hath  departed  ! 

Nay,  let  us  weep,  our  grief  hath  need  of  tears — 
Tears  should  embalm  the  dead,  and  there  is  one, 
A  gentle  woman,  with  her  clinging  love, 
Who  wrung  her  heart  that  she  might  give  him  up 
To  his  high  destiny.     Tears  are  for  her, — 
She  lingers  yet  among  her  household  gods 
And  knoweth  not  how  low  her  heart  is  laid. 
From  battle-fields  where  strife  was  fiercely  waged, 
And  human  blood-drops  fell  a  crimson  rain, 
He  had  returned  to  her.     God  help  thee,  Lady, 
Look  not -for  him  now ! 
Thron'd  in  a  nation's  love  he  sunk  to  sleep, 
And  so  awoke  in  Heaven. 

NEW  YORK,  AFril  5. 


464  APPENDIX.  £D] 

VICE-PRESIDENT  TYLER'S  RECOMMENDATION  OP  A 
NATIONAL   FAST. 

OFFICIAL. 

To  the  People  of  the  United  State*. 

A  BECOMMENDATION. 

When  a  Christian  People  feel  themselves  to  be  over 
taken  by  a  great  public  calamity,  it  becomes  them  to  humble 
themselves  under  the  dispensation  of  Divine  Providence,  to 
recognize  His  righteous  government  over  the  children  of 
men,  to  acknowledge  His  goodness  in  time  past,  as  well  as 
their  own  unworthiness,  and  to  supplicate  His  merciful  pro 
tection  for  the  future. 

The  death  of  WILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON,  late  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  so  soon  after  his  elevation  to 
that  high  office,  is  a  bereavement  peculiarly  calculated  to 
be  regarded  as  a  heavy  affliction,  and  to  impress  all  minds 
with  a  sense  of  the  uncertainty  of  human  things,  and  of 
the  dependence  of  nations,  as  well  as  of  individuals,  upon 
our  Heavenly  Parent. 

I  have  thought,  therefore,  that  I  should  be  acting  in 
conformity  with  the  general  expectation  and  feelings  of  the 
community  in  recommending,  as  I  now  do,  to  the  People 
of  the  United  States,  of  every  religious  denomination,  that, 
according  to  their  several  modes  and  forms  of  worship,  they 
observe  a  day  of  Fasting  and  Prayer,  by  such  religious  ser 
vices  as  may  be  suitable  on  the  occasion ;  and  I  recommend 
Friday,  the  fourteenth  day  of  May  next,  for  that  purpose ; 
to  the  end  that,  on  that  day,  we  may  all,  with  one  accord, 
join  in  humble  and  reverential  approach  to  HIM,  in  whose 
Jiands  we  are,  invoking  him  to  inspire  us  with  a  proper 


[D]  APPENDIX.  465 

spirit  and  temper  of  heart  and  mind  under  these  frowns 
of  His  providence,  and  still  to  bestow  His  gracious  bene 
dictions  upon  our  Government  and  our  country. 

JOHN  TYLER. 
WASHINGTON,  April  13,  1841. 

CONCLUSION. 

Thus  the  national  bereavement,  so  signal  and  so  over 
whelming,  has  been  acknowledged  by  many  sincere  demon 
strations  of  sympathy  and  grief — and  finally  by  an  executive 
recommendation  of  a  day  of  national  fasting  and  prayer. 
President  Tyler  has  done  well  to  enter  upon  the  honors 
of  office  by  honoring  our  fathers'  God  and  ours !  The  pub 
lic  solemnities  attending  the  late  fearful  dispensation  are 
appropriately  concluded  by  the  humiliation  of  the  whole 
people  before  the  majesty  of  Heaven. 

Christians!  the  voice  of  God  summons  you  to  Zion! 
Prepare  ye  to  assemble  at  her  solemn  places  with  humilia 
tion  and  prayer.  The  national  visitation  demands  national 
penitence ;  and  the  garment  of  our  praise  must  be  wrapped 
in  the  spirit  of  heaviness. 

Now  therefore,  our  God,  the  great,  the  mighty,  and  the 
terrible  God,  who  keepest  covenant  and  mercy,  let  not  all 
the  trouble  seem  little  before  Thee,  that  hath  come  upon 
us,  unto  this  day.  Howbeit  Thou  art  just  in  all  that  is 
brought  upon  us ;  for  Thou  hast  done  right,  but  we  have 
done  wickedly.  We  have  not  kept  Thy  law,  nor  hearkened 
unto  Thy  commandments  and  Thy  testimonies,  wherewith 
Thou  didst  testify  against  us ! 

To  the  Lord  our  God,  belong  mercies  and  forgiveness. 
O  Lord,  hear !  O  Lord,  forgive ! 


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Montgomery,  H.         M7~ 

The  life  of  Major-    1860 
General  William  H. 
Harrison. 


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